Meaning of 海湾
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- bay
- gulf
- (Persian) Gulf
How to use 海湾
海湾 is used for bays and gulfs in geography, travel, and news. Capitalized as a proper name, it often refers to the Persian Gulf, as in 海湾战争 (Hǎiwān Zhànzhēng), the Gulf War. Example: 我们在海湾里划船。 (Wǒmen zài hǎiwān lǐ huá chuán.) We rowed a boat in the bay.
海 (hǎi) means sea, and 湾 (wān) is a bend in water. Picture the sea curving inward to hug the land, and you have a bay or gulf.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 湾 (wān) with 弯 (wān, to bend). They sound the same, but 湾 has the water radical 氵 because it names a body of water. Also keep 海湾 separate from 海边 (hǎi biān), which means the seaside, not the bay itself.
海湾 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
海 hǎi · ocean · 10 strokes
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湾 wān · bay · 12 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 海湾.
Questions about 海湾
What does 海湾 mean?
海湾 (hǎiwān) means "bay; gulf" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 海湾?
海湾 is made of 2 characters: 海 (10 strokes), 湾 (12 strokes). That is 22 strokes in total.
Is 海湾 an HSK word?
Yes. 海湾 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 海湾 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 海湾 is written 海灣.
Is 海湾 used in place names?
Yes, but many names use just 湾 as a suffix, such as 墨西哥湾 (Mòxīgē Wān), the Gulf of Mexico. Short forms with 湾 are more common in formal names, while 海湾 is the general word.
What does 海湾国家 mean?
海湾国家 (Hǎiwān guójiā) means the Gulf states, the countries around the Persian Gulf such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. You will see it often in news reports.