海 meaning and stroke order
Ocean; sea; great number of people or things
How to write 海, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 海
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- ocean
- sea
- great number of people or things
- (dialect) numerous
How 海 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 每 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 海
海 (hǎi) is water 氵 on the left plus 每 (měi, every) on the right. Picture every drop of water flowing together until it becomes the sea.
海 appears in many everyday words like 大海 (dàhǎi, ocean), 海边 (hǎi biān, seaside), and 海鲜 (hǎixiān, seafood). It can also mean a huge number of something, as in 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi, huge crowds). Example: 我们去海边吧。(Wǒmen qù hǎi biān ba.) Let's go to the seaside.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 母 (mǔ) without the top part, but 每 has an extra short stroke and a horizontal on top, and the inside dots of 母 stay. Also avoid confusing 海 with 梅 (méi, plum), which has 木 on the left instead of water.
Common words with 海
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 大海 | dàhǎi | sea; ocean | HSK 2 |
| 海边 | hǎi biān | coast; seaside; seashore; beach | HSK 2 |
| 海关 | hǎiguān | customs (i.e. border crossing inspection) | HSK 3 |
| 海水 | hǎishuǐ | seawater | HSK 4 |
| 海鲜 | hǎixiān | seafood | HSK 4 |
| 海洋 | hǎiyáng | ocean | HSK 6 |
| 海军 | hǎijūn | navy | HSK 6 |
| 海底 | hǎidǐ | seabed; seafloor; bottom of the ocean | HSK 6 |
| 海外 | hǎiwài | overseas; abroad | HSK 6 |
| 海报 | hǎibào | poster; playbill | HSK 6 |
| 海湾 | hǎiwān | bay; gulf | HSK 6 |
| 海浪 | hǎilàng | sea wave | HSK 6 |
| 沿海 | yánhǎi | coastal | HSK 6 |
| 海滩 | hǎitān | beach | HSK 7-9 |
海 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 海
Learning 海 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 海
How many strokes are in 海?
海 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 海 mean?
海 (hǎi) means ocean; sea; great number of people or things. A common word with it is 大海 (dàhǎi), meaning "sea; ocean".
How do you pronounce 海?
海 is pronounced hǎi, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 海?
The radical of 海 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 海 under this radical.
Is 海 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 海 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 海 and 洋?
海 usually means a sea, often one near land, while 洋 (yáng) means a large open ocean like the Pacific, 太平洋 (Tàipíng Yáng). Together, 海洋 (hǎiyáng) is the general word for oceans and seas.
Why is 海 in the name 上海?
上海 (Shànghǎi) literally means something like "on the sea," since the city sits near the coast. Many place names use 海 for lakes or seas, such as 青海 (Qīnghǎi), named after a large lake.