山洞 (shāndòng): cave; cavern

Measure Word

一个山洞 gè

他们在山洞里发现了壁画。

Tāmen zài shāndòng lǐ fāxiàn le bìhuà.

They discovered wall paintings inside the cave.

下雨了，我们躲进山洞避雨。

Xiàyǔ le, wǒmen duǒ jìn shāndòng bì yǔ.

It started raining, so we took shelter in a cave.

这个山洞已经有几千年的历史了。

Zhège shāndòng yǐjīng yǒu jǐqiān nián de lìshǐ le.

This cave is already thousands of years old.

memory

Picture a hole (洞) in the side of a mountain (山) — that's literally what 山洞 is. Compare with 洞穴 (dòngxué), a more formal/scientific word for cave.

山 shān

洞 dòng