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海

Mandarin · pinyin hǎi#

ocean
sea
Classifier: 個 gè, 片 piàn
great number of people or things
(dialect) numerous

Mandarin · pinyin Hǎi#

surname Hai

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Characters in this entry

海: hǎi · sea, ocean; maritime

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3 · hai3

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1character link6same-tone records3source references

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 9 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hoi2

Cantonese word readings for 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.

character

sea; ocean
big lake
(Cantonese) wide river, especially the Pearl River
(of containers, amount, etc.) big; large
overseas; abroad
(figurative) sea; abundance; infiniteness
(dialectal, colloquial) profuse; numerous
(dialectal, colloquial) unrestrainedly; randomly; casually
a surname, Hai (Mainland China, Taiwan) and Hoi (Hong Kong)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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