石 - STONE

Readings & Meanings:

いし

せき

シャク

コク

stone

Common Usage:

石段

石橋

石像

磁石

Examples:

お寺の石段を上る。

石橋をたたいて渡る。（ことわざ）

ブッダの石像を拝む。

磁石で砂鉄を集める。

Translations:

I go up the stone steps of the temple.

Knock first before crossing a stone bridge. (proverb)

I make an offering to the stone statue of Buddha.

Gather the iron filings with a magnet.

Bonus:

No special tricks to remember this one. This one's easy. 5 strokes. You can remember it on its own. 石 is its own radical, and we'll see it in other kanji.

Except, you must remember: don't cross the streams! It's not the same as 右. The sloping line of 石 starts just under the top horizontal line.

おやじガグ:

石の意志 - stone will.

(The Oyaji-gagu section is just for humor. Do not actually use this Japanese in conversation. You will look like a バカ.)

References:

http://www.thejapanesepage.com/kanji/kanji/i.htm