Chinese character for sea (ocean): 海 (hǎi)
The Chinese character for sea is 海 (hǎi). It means sea or ocean and appears in 大海 (dàhǎi, the sea) and 海洋 (hǎiyáng, ocean). It is also found in place names like 上海 (Shanghai, 'on the sea').
How 海 is built
海 joins 氵, the water radical, with 每 (měi, every), which gives the sound. As a memory aid, the sea is where every river's water ends up. This is a standard sound-plus-meaning character. 海 appears in many expressions about vastness, such as 人山人海 (huge crowds, literally 'mountains and seas of people'). It is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese.
海 hǎi · sea
- 氵shuǐ — water
- 每měi — each
- 母mǔ — mother
Origin hint: 氵 gives the meaning, 每 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
How 海 is used
Other ways to say sea (ocean)
- 海洋 hǎiyáng — ocean, a more formal word
- 洋 yáng — ocean, as in 太平洋 (Pacific Ocean)
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: 海 is identical in both scripts; it is also used in many names, so readers may see it as a name element.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for sea (ocean)?
海 (hǎi) means “sea”.
How do you pronounce 海?
海 is pronounced hǎi.