公こう海かい

こ

う

か

い

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

high seas; international waters

Refers to ocean areas not under any country's jurisdiction, often used in legal, political, or news contexts.

公こう海かいでの漁ぎょ業ぎょうは国こく際さい法ほうで規き制せいされている。
Fishing on the high seas is regulated by international law.
その船ふねは公こう海かいで拿だ捕ほされた。
The ship was seized in international waters.

See all 6 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

公こう海かいを航こう行こうするto sail through/navigate international waters
その船ふねは公こう海かいを航こう行こうしていた。
The ship was sailing through international waters.
公こう海かいに出でるto go out into the high seas
漁ぎょ船せんは領りょう海かいを越こえて公こう海かいに出でた。
The fishing boat crossed the territorial waters and went out into the high seas.
公こう海かいで〈事こと〉が起おきるfor an incident to occur on the high seas
公こう海かいで衝しょう突とつ事じ故こが起おきた。
A collision occurred on the high seas.

Kanji

公public, prince, official
海sea, ocean

Related words

洋よう上じょう
公海 is a legal term for international waters outside any nation's jurisdiction, while 洋上 is a plain descriptive term for being on the sea.

Opposites

領りょう海かいN1
領海 is the territorial waters under a country's sovereignty, while 公海 is the open sea beyond any nation's jurisdiction.

Don't confuse with

公こう開かいN1
公開 (making something public, e.g. a release or disclosure) shares the same reading こうかい with 公海 but has nothing to do with the sea.
航こう海かいN1
航海 means a sea voyage or the act of sailing, whereas 公海 is the geographic area of international waters where such a voyage might take place.
後こう悔かいN2
後悔 means regret and is unrelated in meaning to 公海, but the two are easy to mix up by sound alone.

Word family

公こう海かい上じょう
on the high seas

Etymology

Compound of 公 (public) and 海 (sea), literally 'public sea'. The term is a modern legal concept, likely coined in the late 19th or early 20th century as a translation of Western international law terms.