海
sea, ocean
Readings
On'yomi
- カイ
Kun'yomi
- うみ
Nanori
- あ
- あま
- うな
- うん
- え
- か
- た
- ひろ
- ひろし
- ぶ
- まち
- まま
- み
- め
- わたる
Meaning
海 centers on the vast body of salt water covering most of the earth: the sea or ocean.
Most common words using 海
24 of 928- 海外かいがいN4
foreign; abroad; overseas
- 海うみN5
sea; ocean; waters
- 北海道ほっかいどうN5
Hokkaido (island, prefectural-level administrative unit)
- 海賊かいぞく
pirate
- 海岸かいがんN4
seashore; coast; seaside; waterfront; beach
- 東海とうかい
Tōkai region (of Honshu; incl. Aichi, Shizuoka, Mie and southern Gifu prefectures)
- 海軍かいぐんN1
navy; naval force
- 海老えびN1
prawn; shrimp; lobster
- 上海シャンハイ
Shanghai (China)
- 航海こうかいN1
(sea) voyage; navigation; sailing; passage; cruise
- 海上かいじょうN1
(on the) sea; surface of the sea
- 海洋かいようN2
ocean; sea
- 海域かいいき
area of sea; waters
- 海底かいていN1
bottom of the ocean; seafloor; seabed
- 日本海にほんかい
Sea of Japan
- 海水かいすいN1
seawater; saltwater
- 深海しんかい
deep sea; depths of the sea; ocean depths
- 南海なんかい
southern sea
- 海苔のりN1
nori; laver; edible seaweed, usu. Porphyra yezoensis or P. tenera, usu. dried and pressed into sheets
- 海水浴かいすいよくN2
swimming in the ocean; sea bathing; seawater bath; going for a dip in the ocean
- 地中海ちちゅうかい
Mediterranean Sea
- 海辺うみべN2
beach; seashore; seaside; coast
- 海峡かいきょうN1
channel (e.g. between two land masses); strait
- 近海きんかい
coastal waters; adjacent seas
Study
Etymology
海 combines 氵 (water) with 每, which likely contributed the sound and originally depicted a body of water. The modern form keeps the water radical and the phonetic component 每.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side is water 氵, and the right side 每 looks like a person with a hat standing by the shore. Picture someone gazing out at the vast sea.
Reading mnemonic
For カイ, imagine a kite flying over the ocean: kite -> カイ, soaring above the sea.