海 — how to write the kanji for “sea”
海 (“sea” and “ocean”) is a JLPT N4 kanji taught in second grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 200th most used kanji. Japan writes it with 9 strokes, China with 10 strokes. KANJIDIC2 files it under the radical 水 (“water”). On its own it is the word umi, “sea; ocean”. Its common words take the reading kai: 海外 (“foreign”), 北海道 (“Hokkaido…”), 東海 (“Tōkai region”) and 海上 (“(on the) sea”). Chinese reads it hǎi, “ocean”, at HSK 3.
- Strokes
- 9
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 水 (“water”)
- On
- カイ
- Kun
- うみ
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Its parts sit side by side: 氵 (“water”), strokes 1–3; 毎 (“every”), strokes 4–9, each finished before the next.
- Dot ㇔top leftdown and right
- Dot ㇔leftdown and right
- Rising stroke ㇀bottom leftup and right
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topdown and left
- Horizontal ㇐toprightwards
- Left-falling then dot ㇛topdownwards → rightwards
- Horizontal-turn-hook ㇆toprightwards → downwards
- Vertical ㇑centerdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japan writes it with 9 strokes and China with 10 strokes, and both counts match the reference lists (KANJIDIC2, Unihan).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- カイ kai
- Kun (native)
- うみ umi
- Meanings
- sea; ocean
- Read kai
- 海外 北海道 東海 海上 海軍 海岸
- School year
- second grade
- Newspaper rank
- 200th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 해 hae
- Common words
- 58 in JMdict
Words with 海
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 海外 | かいがい kaigai | foreign; abroad |
| 北海道 | ほっかいどう hokkaidou | Hokkaido (island, prefectural-level administrative unit) |
| 東海 | とうかい toukai | Tōkai region; eastern sea |
| 海上 | かいじょう kaijou | (on the) sea; surface of the sea |
| 海軍 | かいぐん kaigun | navy; naval force |
| 海岸 | かいがん kaigan | seashore; coast |
| 海洋 | かいよう kaiyou | ocean; sea |
| 掃海 | そうかい soukai | sweeping the sea for mines; dragging for mines |
| 日本海 | にほんかい nihonkai | Sea of Japan |
| 海域 | かいいき kaiiki | area of sea; waters |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: