DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
下海
Mandarin · pinyin xià hǎi
Meanings
- to go out to sea
- to enter the sea (to swim etc)
- (fig.) to take the plunge (e.g. leave a secure job, or enter prostitution etc)
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Mandarin tones
4–3 · xia4 hai3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
haa6 hoi2
Cantonese word readings for 下海. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
verb
- (literally) to sail out to the sea; to go to sea; to go fishing, swimming, surfing (or other activities) in the sea
- (figuratively, chiefly Mainland China) to resign from one's profession and venture into doing business
- (figuratively, of an amateur performer) to turn professional
- (figuratively, of a woman) to be driven to prostitution
- (figuratively, slang) to go into the pornography or sex work industry
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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