Whats the difference between yama and san in the title of a mountain?


Whats the difference between yama and san in the title of a mountain? 富山 and
富士山 Toyama and Fujisan for example? Is one simply a mountain and the other a
volcano?




According to Jisho.org the Kanji in question
([山](https://jisho.org/search/%E5%B1%B1%20%23kanji)), has only one meaning:
Mountain. That has no distinction between a volcano (which is written 火山) or a
regular mountain.

As @Leebo has pointed out both readings (やま and さん) are used in mountain
titles. I personally would take that to mean that there isn't really a
dramatic difference between the two. The difference in reading may stem from
how kanji got integrated into the Japanese language, but that is mostly
conjecture on my part.

The only way to know which reading is correct is experience. Usually one will
sound better than the other.

Be aware that not all mountains have the 山 kanji at the end of its name like
[二ノ森](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E4%BA%8C%E3%83%8E%E6%A3%AE&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS820US821&oq=%E4%BA%8C%E3%83%8E%E6%A3%AE&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.846j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)
on Shikoku, and some will have the ending
[岳](https://jisho.org/word/%E5%B2%B3) like
[鶴見岳](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E9%B6%B4%E8%A6%8B%E5%B2%B3&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS820US821&oq=%E9%B6%B4%E8%A6%8B%E5%B2%B3&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.885j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)
on Kyushu.




According to Jisho.org the Kanji in question
([山](https://jisho.org/search/%E5%B1%B1%20%23kanji)), has only one meaning:
Mountain. That has no distinction between a volcano (which is written 火山) or a
regular mountain.

As @Leebo has pointed out both readings (やま and さん) are used in mountain
titles. I personally would take that to mean that there isn't really a
dramatic difference between the two. The difference in reading may stem from
how kanji got integrated into the Japanese language, but that is mostly
conjecture on my part.

The only way to know which reading is correct is experience. Usually one will
sound better than the other.

Be aware that not all mountains have the 山 kanji at the end of its name like
[二ノ森](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E4%BA%8C%E3%83%8E%E6%A3%AE&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS820US821&oq=%E4%BA%8C%E3%83%8E%E6%A3%AE&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.846j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)
on Shikoku, and some will have the ending
[岳](https://jisho.org/word/%E5%B2%B3) like
[鶴見岳](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E9%B6%B4%E8%A6%8B%E5%B2%B3&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS820US821&oq=%E9%B6%B4%E8%A6%8B%E5%B2%B3&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.885j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)
on Kyushu.

