A natural or semi-natural cave-like space, often with a sense of shelter or seclusion. Can also refer to a cave used as a dwelling or hideout.
We waited for the tide to go out in the seaside cavern.
There are several old grottoes in that mountain.
There's apparently a hermit living in a cavern deep in the mountains.
The pursued soldiers hid in a cavern and waited for nightfall.
洞窟 is the general, scientific word for 'cave', while 岩屋 emphasizes a rock-formed cavern often used as a shelter or hideout.
洞穴 is a common, everyday word for a hollow cave, whereas 岩屋 stresses a solid rocky enclosure suitable for dwelling.
岩窟 is a more literary term for a rocky cavern, close in meaning to 岩屋 but used mainly in written or dramatic contexts.
岩屋 is a cave or rocky shelter used as a dwelling, close to the いしむろ reading of 石室, but 石室 more often implies a small man-made stone structure rather than a natural cave.
Used when referring to a cavern or grotto as a place/location rather than as a countable object.
Standard kanji spelling; literally 'rock house'.
Single-character spelling meaning 'cavern' or 'cave'; rare and literary.
Variant kanji spelling using 石 (stone) instead of 岩 (rock); less common.
Compound of 岩 (iwa, 'rock') and 屋 (ya, 'house' or 'shop'), literally 'rock house'. The spelling 窟 is a single kanji with the same meaning, likely an older or more literary form.