海 (hǎi) is a Chinese character meaning “sea”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 每 (every; each), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “sea”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 每
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 海，天池也。从水每声 + hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left, 每 (every) on the right — every river ends up running into the sea.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 大海dà hǎithe sea; the ocean海 = hǎi
- 海洋hǎi yángseas and oceans; the ocean海 = hǎi
- 刘海liú hǎibangs; fringe (of hair)海 = hǎi
- 沧海cāng hǎithe blue sea; the vast ocean海 = hǎi
- 海岛hǎi dǎoisland (in the sea); sea island海 = hǎispoken ashái dǎo
- 海岸hǎi àncoast; seashore海 = hǎi
- 海龟hǎi guīsea turtle海 = hǎi
- 沿海yán hǎicoastal; along the coast海 = hǎi
- 海啸hǎi xiàotsunami海 = hǎi
- 海盗hǎi dàopirate海 = hǎi
- 海绵hǎi miánsponge海 = hǎi
- 海豚hǎi túndolphin海 = hǎi
- 海豹hǎi bàoseal (the marine animal)海 = hǎi
- 海鸥hǎi ōuseagull海 = hǎi
Go deeper
All readings
sea
sea; ocean; a great number of (people or things); vast
靠近大陆、比洋小的水域；也比喻数量多、范围广。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 大海dà hǎithe sea; the ocean海 = hǎi
- 海洋hǎi yángseas and oceans; the ocean海 = hǎi
- 刘海liú hǎibangs; fringe (of hair)海 = hǎi
- 沧海cāng hǎithe blue sea; the vast ocean海 = hǎi
- 海岛hǎi dǎoisland (in the sea); sea island海 = hǎispoken ashái dǎo
- 海岸hǎi àncoast; seashore海 = hǎi
- 海龟hǎi guīsea turtle海 = hǎi
- 沿海yán hǎicoastal; along the coast海 = hǎi
- 海啸hǎi xiàotsunami海 = hǎi
- 海盗hǎi dàopirate海 = hǎi
- 海绵hǎi miánsponge海 = hǎi
- 海豚hǎi túndolphin海 = hǎi
- 海豹hǎi bàoseal (the marine animal)海 = hǎi
- 海鸥hǎi ōuseagull海 = hǎi
Sound component
每 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 海 mean?
海 (hǎi) means sea; ocean; a great number of (people or things); vast.
How do you pronounce 海?
It is pronounced hǎi.
What parts is 海 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 每 (every; each), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 海，天池也。从水每声 + hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 海 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 海?
水. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 海?
Common ones are 大海 and 海洋. The reading of 海 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.