Meaning of 海鲜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- seafood
How to use 海鲜
海鲜 is a general noun for fish, shrimp, crab, shellfish and other sea food, and it often appears on menus and restaurant signs. It is common in phrases like 吃海鲜 (chī hǎixiān, eat seafood) and 海鲜餐厅 (hǎixiān cāntīng, seafood restaurant). Example: 我们晚上去海边吃海鲜吧。 (Wǒmen wǎnshang qù hǎibiān chī hǎixiān ba.) Let's go eat seafood by the sea tonight.
海鲜 (hǎixiān) is simply 海 (hǎi, sea) plus 鲜 (xiān, fresh), so it means fresh things from the sea. You can also spot 鱼 (fish) on the left side of 鲜, which fits the idea of seafood.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 鲜 with a third tone because of 鲜 xiǎn in 鲜为人知 (rarely known), but in 海鲜 and 新鲜 (xīnxiān) it is first tone xiān. Also do not write the right side of 鲜 as anything other than 羊 (yáng, sheep).
海鲜 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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鲜 xiān · fresh · 14 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 海鲜.
| 大海 | dàhǎi | sea; ocean |
| 海边 | hǎi biān | coast; seaside; seashore; beach |
| 海关 | hǎiguān | customs (i.e. border crossing inspection) |
| 新鲜 | xīnxiān | fresh (experience, food etc); freshness |
| 海水 | hǎishuǐ | seawater |
| 鲜花 | xiānhuā | flower; fresh flowers |
| 鲜明 | xiānmíng | (of colors) bright; fresh and clear; clear-cut; distinct |
| 鲜艳 | xiānyàn | bright-colored; gaily-colored |
| 海洋 | hǎiyáng | ocean |
| 海军 | hǎijūn | navy |
| 海底 | hǎidǐ | seabed; seafloor; bottom of the ocean |
| 海外 | hǎiwài | overseas; abroad |
Questions about 海鲜
What does 海鲜 mean?
海鲜 (hǎixiān) means "seafood" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 海鲜?
海鲜 is made of 2 characters: 海 (10 strokes), 鲜 (14 strokes). That is 24 strokes in total.
Is 海鲜 an HSK word?
Yes. 海鲜 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 海鲜 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 海鲜 is written 海鮮.
Does 海鲜 include freshwater fish and shrimp?
In everyday speech, yes, many people use 海鲜 loosely for river fish, crayfish and other water food too. If you want to be precise, freshwater products can be called 河鲜 (héxiān).
How do I say I am allergic to seafood in Chinese?
You can say 我对海鲜过敏 (wǒ duì hǎixiān guòmǐn), which means I am allergic to seafood. This is a useful sentence to tell waiters in restaurants.