海

Translingual

Japanese	海
Simplified	海
Traditional	海

Stroke order

Alternative forms

In Chinese, the bottom right component is 母 with 2 dots, yielding 海. In Japanese shinjitai, this component is simplified to 毋 (1 cross stroke), yielding 海 (氵+毎). Both forms are encoded under the same Unicode codepoint – see Han unification.

Han character

海 (Kangxi radical 85, 水+7 in Chinese, 水+6 in Japanese, 10 strokes in Chinese, 9 strokes in Japanese, cangjie input 水人田卜 (EOWY), four-corner 3815₇, composition ⿰氵每(GHTKV or U+FA45) or ⿰氵毎(J or U+2F901))

Derived characters

• 嗨, 𢲨, 𤍃, 𫗀, 𥉪, 𤀇, 𦷫, 𬕧, 𩘫, 塰

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 625, character 14
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 17450
• Dae Jaweon: page 1023, character 11
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1627, character 1
• Unihan data for U+6D77

• Unihan data for U+FA45

• Unihan data for U+2F901

---

Chinese

simp. and trad.		海

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 海
Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (母) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
脢	*mɯːs, *mɯː, *mɯːs
挴	*mlɯːʔ, *mɯːʔ
海	*hmlɯːʔ
毐	*ʔmɯː, *ʔmɯːʔ
呣	*mɯ
拇	*mɯʔ
母	*mɯʔ
胟	*mɯʔ
姆	*mɯʔ, *mɯs, *maːʔ
畮	*mɯʔ
踇	*mɯʔ
苺	*mɯs, *mɯːʔ, *mɯːs
莓	*mɯs, *mɯː, *mɯːs
敏	*mrɯʔ, *mrɯŋʔ
鰵	*mrɯŋʔ
慜	*mrɯŋʔ
毋	*ma
梅	*mɯː
酶	*mɯː
鋂	*mɯː
每	*mɯːʔ
毎	*mɯːs
痗	*mɯːs, *hmɯːs
晦	*hmɯːs
誨	*hmɯːs
悔	*hmɯːʔ, *hmɯːs
霉	*mrɯl

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hmlɯːʔ) : semantic 氵 (“water”) + phonetic 每 (OC *mɯːʔ).

Etymology

Probably related to 晦 (OC *hmɯːs, “dark”); in numerous Zhou texts 海 is described as 晦 (Schuessler, 2007).

Compare the parallelism in Chinese: 溟 (OC *meːŋ, *meːŋʔ, “ocean”) < 冥 (OC *meːŋ, “dark”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): hǎi (hai³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄞˇ

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): хэ (he, II)

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): hoi²

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): hoi²

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): hói
• Northern Min (KCR): huǒi
• Eastern Min (BUC): hāi
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hái

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hai²

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁵he

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hǎi
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄞˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hǎi
    • Wade–Giles: hai³
    • Yale: hǎi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hae
    • Palladius: хай (xaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xaɪ̯²¹⁴/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: хэ (he, II)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɛ⁵¹/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: hoi²
    • Yale: hói
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hoi²
    • Guangdong Romanization: hoi²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔːi̯³⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: hoi²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hᵘɔi⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hói
    • Hakka Romanization System: hoi`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: hoi³
    • Sinological IPA: /hoi̯³¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: huǒi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xuɛ²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: hāi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hai³³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hái
    • Tâi-lô: hái
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hae
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hai⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hai⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hai⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hai⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hai⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hai²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hái
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hai⁵²/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁵he
    • MiniDict: he^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²he
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /he³⁴/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 海
Mandarin	Beijing	/xai²¹⁴/
	Harbin	/xai²¹³/
	Tianjin	/xai¹³/
	Jinan	/xɛ⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/xɛ⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/xai⁵³/
	Xi'an	/xai⁵³/
	Xining	/xɛ⁵³/
	Yinchuan	/xɛ⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/xɛ⁴⁴²/
	Ürümqi	/xai⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/xai⁴²/
	Chengdu	/xai⁵³/
	Guiyang	/xai⁴²/
	Kunming	/xæ⁵³/
	Nanjing	/xae²¹²/
	Hefei	/xe̞²⁴/
Jin	Taiyuan	/xai⁵³/
	Pingyao	/xæ⁵³/
	Hohhot	/xɛ⁵³/
Wu	Shanghai	/he³⁵/
	Suzhou	/he̞⁵¹/
	Hangzhou	/he̞⁵³/
	Wenzhou	/he³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/xɛ³⁵/
	Tunxi	/xuə³¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/xai⁴¹/
	Xiangtan	/xai⁴²/
Gan	Nanchang	/hai²¹³/
Hakka	Meixian	/hoi³¹/
	Taoyuan	/hoi³¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/hɔi³⁵/
	Nanning	/hɔi³⁵/
	Hong Kong	/hɔi³⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/hai⁵³/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/hai³²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/xuɛ²¹/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/hai⁵³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/hai²¹³/

---

• Middle Chinese: xojX

Rime
Character	海
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	曉 (32)
Final (韻)	咍 (41)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	呼改切
Baxter	xojX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/hʌiX/
Pan Wuyun	/həiX/
Shao Rongfen	/xɒiX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/həjX/
Li Rong	/xᴀiX/
Wang Li	/xɒiX/
Bernard Karlgren	/xɑ̆iX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hǎi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hoi2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*m̥ˤəʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*hmlɯːʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	海
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	hǎi
Middle Chinese	‹ xojX ›
Old Chinese	/*m̥ˁəʔ/ (dialect *m̥ˁ- > x-)
English	sea
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	海
Reading #	1/1
No.	9283
Phonetic component	母
Rime group	之
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	海
Old Chinese	/*hmlɯːʔ/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 海

1. sea; ocean
2. big lake
3. overseas; abroad
4. (figurative) sea; abundance; infiniteness
5. (regional) profuse; numerous
6. unrestrainedly; randomly; casually
7. a surname Hai (mainland China, Taiwan), Hoi (Hong Kong)

Compounds

(deprecated template usage)

---

Japanese

Shinjitai	海
Kyūjitai	海

Kanji

海

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. sea, ocean
2. vastly gathered
3. large, wide

Readings

• Go-on: かい (kai, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: かい (kai, Jōyō)
• Kun: うみ (umi, 海, Jōyō); わた (wata, 海); わだ (wada, 海)
• Nanori: あ (a); あま (ama); うな (una); うん (un); え (e); か (ka); た (ta); ひろ (hiro); ひろし (hiroshi); ぶ (bu); まち (machi); まま (mama); み (mi); め (me); わたる (wataru)

Compounds

Compounds

• 海運(かいうん) (kaiun, “marine transportation”)
• 海外(かいがい) (kaigai, “abroad, foreign country”)
• 海岸(かいがん) (kaigan, “coast, seashore, seacoast”)
• 海峡(かいきょう) (kaikyō, “strait”)
• 海軍(かいぐん) (kaigun, “navy”)
• 海獣(かいじゅう) (kaijū, “marine animal”)
• 海嘯(かいしょう) (kaishō, “tidal wave”)
• 海上(かいじょう) (kaijō, “on the sea, marine, maritime”)
• 海王星(かいおうせい) (Kaiōsei, “Neptune”)
• 海神(かいじん) (kaijin, “sea god/spirit”)
• 海図(かいず) (kaizu, “sea chart, water map”)
• 海水(かいすい) (kaisui, “seawater”)
• 海鮮(かいせん) (kaisen, “seafood”)
• 海戦(かいせん) (kaisen, “naval battle”)
• 海草(かいそう) (kaisō, “seagrass”)
• 海藻(かいそう) (kaisō, “seaweed”)
• 海賊(かいぞく) (kaizoku, “pirate”)
• 海中(かいちゅう) (kaichū)
• 海底(かいてい) (kaitei, “seabed”)
• 海藤(かいどう) (kaidō)
• 海難(かいなん) (kainan, “marine”)
• 海馬(かいば) (kaiba, “sea lion”)
• 海抜(かいばつ) (kaibatsu, “above sea level”)
• 海錨(かいびょう) (kaibyō, “sea anchor”)
• 海辺(かいへん) (kaihen, “seaside”)
• 海洋(かいよう) (kaiyō, “marine”)
• 海流(かいりゅう) (kairyū, “sea current, ocean trend”)
• 海豹(アザラシ) (azarashi)
• 海驢(アシカ) (ashika)
• 熱海(あたみ) (Atami)
• 海人(あま), 海士(あま), 海女(あま) (ama, “diver”)
• 海参(いりこ), 煎海鼠(いりこ) (iriko)
• 海豚(イルカ) (iruka, “dolphin”)
• 海胆(ウニ) (uni)
• 海老(エビ) (ebi, “shrimp, prawn, lobster”)
• 淡海(おうみ) (ōmi)
• 海髪(オゴ) (ogo), 海髪(オゴノリ) (ogonori)
• 海月(クラゲ) (kurage, “jellyfish”)
• 海鼠腸(このわた) (konowata)
• 海象(セイウチ), 海馬(セイウチ) (seiuchi)
• 海鼠(ナマコ) (namako)
• 海苔(ノリ) (nori, “nori”)
• 海底(ハイテイ) (haitei), 海底(ハイテイ)摸月(ラオユエ) (haitei raoyue)
• 海星(ヒトデ), 海盤車(ヒトデ) (hitode, “starfish”)
• 海蘿(フノリ) (funori)
• 海鞘(ホヤ) (hoya, “sea squirt”)
• 海松(ミル) (miru)
• 海雲(モズク), 海蘊(モズク) (mozuku)
• 海人草(マクリ), 海仁草(マクリ) (makuri)
• 天空(てんくう)海闊(かいかつ) (tenkū kaikatsu)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
海
うみ Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
海 (kyūjitai)

⟨umi₁⟩ → */umij/ → /umi/

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *omi.

Has been thought to have been derived from a compound. There are two leading theories regarding the ultimate derivation:

• Shift from 大 (ō-, “big, great”) + 水 (mi, “water”, combining form). This is problematic phonetically because there is no known term having a related shift from /opo/ → /oː/ → /o/ → /u/, and semantically as there already exists a compound 大水 (ōmizu, “flood”).
• From う (u-, stem indicating “ocean”) + 水 (mi, “water”, combining form). The u- stem is evident in 魚 (uo, “fish”) and 潮 (ushio, “salt water; tide”)

Noun

海(うみ) • (umi) 

1. a sea, an ocean

   海(うみ)の中(なか)にはいろんな生(い)き物(もの)が暮(く)らしています。

   Umi no naka ni wa ironna ikimono ga kurashiteimasu.

   There are all sorts of creatures living in the sea.

   海(うみ)に行(い)こうよ！

   Umi ni ikō yo!

   Let's go to the beach!

   Antonym: 陸 (oka, riku)

2. a lake

   Synonym: 湖 (mizuumi)

3. (figurative) an object covering over a large area, as in 血の海 (chi no umi, “pool of blood”) or 火の海 (hi no umi, “sea of fire”)
4. (planetology) a mare (dark surface of a celestial body, thought to appear like a sea)
5. (calligraphy) in a 硯 (suzuri, “inkstone”), a reservoir where water is stored

   Synonym: 池 (ike)

Usage notes

This is the most common general term in modern Japanese for sea or ocean.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 海上(うなかみ) (unakami), 海上(うながみ) (unagami)
• 海境(うなさか), 海界(うなさか), 海坂(うなさか) (unasaka)
• 海(うな)路(じ) (unaji)
• 海底(うなぞこ) (unazoko)
• 海原(うなばら) (unabara, “wide ocean”)
• 海牛(うみうし) (umiushi, “sea slug”)
• 海風(うみかぜ) (umikaze, “sea breeze”)
• 海亀(うみがめ) (umigame, “sea turtle”)
• 海草(うみぐさ) (umigusa, “seaweed”)
• 海幸(うみさち) (umisachi), 海(うみ)の幸(さち) (umi no sachi, “seafood”)
• 海(うみ)沿(ぞ)い (umizoi, “coastlands”)
• 海(うみ)狸(だぬき) (umidanuki, “beaver”)
• 海鳥(うみどり) (umidori, “sea bird”)
• 海鳴(うみな)り (uminari, “rumbling of the sea”)
• 海(うみ)の日(ひ) (Umi no Hi)
• 海(うみ)辺(べ) (umibe, “beach, seashore”)
• 海山(うみやま) (umiyama, “sea and mountains”)
• 海綿(うみわた) (umiwata, “sea sponge”)
• 海猫(ウミネコ) (umineko, “black-tailed gull”)
• 荒海(あらうみ) (araumi, “rough sea”)
• 淡海(あわうみ) (awaumi)
• 入海(いりうみ) (iriumi, “bay, inlet, gulf, creek”)
• 大(おお)海(うみ) (ōumi, “ocean, large sea”)
• 外(そと)海(うみ) (sotōmi, “open seas”)
• 血(ち)の海(うみ) (chi no umi, “pool of blood”)
• 泥(どろ)海(うみ) (dorōmi, “muddy sea”)
• 鳰(にお)の海(うみ) (Nio-no-umi)

Idioms

• 海(うみ)を渡(わた)る (umi o wataru, “cross over the ocean → go to a foreign country”)

Proper noun

海(うみ) • (Umi) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
海
わた Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
海 (kyūjitai)

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *wata.

May be related to Goguryeo 波旦 (padan). Possibly cognate with Korean 바다 (bada, “ocean, sea”). However, this relies on discredited evidence on an initial *b.

Noun

海(わた) • (wata) 

1. (obsolete) sea, ocean

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 海(わたつ)神(み), 綿(わた)津(つ)見(み) (wata tsu mi, “sea god”)
• 海中(わたなか) (watanaka)
• 海主(わたぬし) (watanushi, “sea master, sea god”)
• 海(わた)の神(かみ) (wata no kami)
• 海(わた)の底(そこ) (wata no soko, pillow word)
• 海(わた)の原(はら) (wata no hara)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
海
み Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
海 (kyūjitai)

Either cognate with 水 (mi, “water”), or an abbreviation of umi above.

Noun

海(み) • (mi) 

1. (obsolete) sea, ocean

Derived terms

• 温(あつ)海(み) (Atsumi)

References

• Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

---

Korean

Hanja

海 (eumhun 바다 해 (bada hae))

1. sea, ocean

Compounds

• 海軍 (해군,haegun) : navy
• 海圖 (해도,haedo)
• 海拔 (해발,haebal)
• 海溢 (해일,haeil) : tsunami
• 海底 (해저,haejeo) : seabed
• 海外 (해외,haeoe) : oversea

---

Mulam

Noun

海 (hai3)

1. sea

---

Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 海 (hải)

1. sea, ocean