san or yama

mountain

One of the interesting things about the Japanese language is that Chinese words were adopted along with the adoption of Chinese characters, or kanji. The Chinese term (called the on reading) for the above symbol is transliterated into Japanese as san (or zan), while the original Japanese word (called the kun reading) is yama. Today, it appears, san is used for more prominent peaks, such as Fuji-san, while yama is a term used for smaller mountains, such as Yoshida-yama.

A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters
Kenneth G. Henshall