Meet 海 in 海 and 海岸. The examples connect each word’s reading with a useful context.

The idea

海 has 9 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram. Learn 海（うみ） and 海岸（かいがん） as complete words: a character’s reading depends on the word.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
海うみYou can see the sea from the top of the mountain.
海岸かいがんI walked along the coast with a friend.
海外かいがいI have a friend who lives abroad.
海辺うみべI took photos by the sea.

Examples

  • 山やまの上うえから海うみが見みえます。You can see the sea from the top of the mountain.
  • 夏なつに海うみで泳およぎます。I swim in the sea in summer.
  • 海岸かいがんを友達ともだちと歩あるきました。I walked along the coast with a friend.
  • 海外かいがいに住すんでいる友達ともだちがいます。I have a friend who lives abroad.
  • 海水かいすいは塩しおを含ふくんでいます。Seawater contains salt.
  • 海辺うみべで写真しゃしんを撮とりました。I took photos by the sea.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

海 is うみ as a word, but かい in 海岸 and 海外. 海外 means abroad, not simply the sea. Compare the shapes of 海 and 梅; they are different characters.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 海 in hiragana.

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    うみ

    海 is read うみ. In context: You can see the sea from the top of the mountain.

  2. Write the reading of 海岸 in hiragana.

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    かいがん

    海岸 is read かいがん. In context: I walked along the coast with a friend.

  3. Write the missing kanji: ＿（うみ）.

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    海

    海 completes 海, read うみ. In context: You can see the sea from the top of the mountain.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 海 from memory, read 海 and 海岸 aloud, then make a sentence with one of them.