海 in Chinese / Japanese...

海 is the character often used for sea or ocean in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. In some context, this can refer to the beach, or an area near the sea, such as “Shanghai” (same hai is the second character of Shanghai).

If you are looking for a universal word for ocean or sea - or can't decide which character for ocean or sea that you want, pick this one!

海 is also a common female given name in Japan - also a good name for a restaurant as “Umi Sushi” would mean “Ocean Sushi Restaurant.”

Please note that our Japanese master calligrapher will tend to write this character in the form shown to the right (a line instead of two dots). Both versions are correct, and can be read in either language. Let us know if you have a preference when you order.

渤海 is the name Bohai in Chinese (Mandarin).

海豚 is a common Chinese and Japanese Kanji title for dolphin.

This can also refer to other small-toothed whales, such as porpoises, belugas, etc.

海迪 is the name Haidy in Chinese (Mandarin).

This is a common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the male Arabic name Haikel.

海莉 is a transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Hailey.

Use this form if you pronounce your name like “High-Lee.”
If in doubt, we suggest you use this version.

海莉 is the name Hailie in Chinese (Mandarin).

海莉 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Haily.

Use this form if you pronounce your name like “High-Lee.”
If in doubt, we suggest you use this version.

This is the Chinese name for the country of Haiti.

海蒂 is the name Hattie in Chinese (Mandarin).

海迪 is the name Haydee in Chinese (Mandarin).

海頓 is the name Hayden in Chinese (Mandarin).

海頓 is the name Haydn in Chinese (Mandarin).

海爾 is the name Hayle in Chinese (Mandarin).

海莉 is the name Haylee in Chinese (Mandarin).

海莉 is the name Hayley in Chinese (Mandarin).

海莉 is the name Haylie in Chinese (Mandarin).

海曼 is the name Hayman in Chinese (Mandarin).

海揚 is the name Hayyan in Chinese (Mandarin).

海蒂 is the name Hedy in Chinese (Mandarin).

海德 is the name Heide in Chinese (Mandarin).

海蒂 is the name Heidi in Chinese (Mandarin).

This is a common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the female name Heidy.

海克 is the name Heike in Chinese (Mandarin).

海克 is the name Heiki in Chinese (Mandarin).

海恩 is the name Hein in Chinese (Mandarin).

海扎 is the name Heiza in Chinese (Mandarin).

海倫 is the name Helen in Chinese (Mandarin).

海倫 is the second most common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Helene.

海林 is the name Helin in Chinese (Mandarin).

This is a common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the female Arabic name Hella.

海倫 is the name Hellen in Chinese (Mandarin).

海倫 is the name Heron in Chinese (Mandarin).

海頓 is the name Heydon in Chinese (Mandarin).

海德 is the name Hyde in Chinese (Mandarin).

海曼 is the name Hyman in Chinese (Mandarin).

海梅 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the Latin / Spanish name Jaime.

海兵 is a way to express “Marine” as in an individual “Soldier of the Sea” in Japanese Kanji and old Korean Hanja characters (not to be confused with Korean Hangul).

Breaking down each character, this means:
“ocean/sea soldier/army/warrior.”

Please note that this Japanese/Korean version kind of means “sailor” or “navy” in Chinese.

海軍 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja word for “Navy.” 海軍 is not country-specific, so it is the title for “naval service” from any country with a navy.

These two characters literally mean “sea military.”

A nice scroll for any sailor who likes Asian characters and has pride in their service.

海神 is a Chinese and Japanese title that means “Emperor of the Sea” or “God of the Sea.”

This would be the Chinese and Japanese equivalent of Neptune or Poseidon.

In Japanese, this can also be the given names Watatsumi or Kaijin and the surname Umikami.

海洋 is probably the most common word for “ocean” in Japanese. 海洋 is also sometimes used in Chinese and Korean Hanja.

In Japan, this can also be a female given name when pronounced as Miyou or Unami.

海賊 means pirate in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

Literally, this translates as sea robber or ocean thief.

海盜 is a Chinese title that can mean Viking or Pirate.

This literally means “sea thief.”

This is a common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the male French name Réjean or Rejean.

海員 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for a sailor, mariner, seafarer, or seaman.

If you sail the seas and brave the waves, this may be the title for you.

The literal meanings: 海 is “Sea” and 員 is “Person.”

海豹 is the title for a true seal (also known as an earless seal).

海亀 is the Japanese title for sea turtle.

海 literally means sea or ocean.

亀 means turtle or tortoise.

上海 is the Chinese and Japanese name for Shanghai, China.

When pronounced as, Joukai, it can be a surname in Japanese.

海嘯 is a common way to write tsunami in Japanese and Chinese (there's more than one way to write the same word).

Note: Can also be written as 津波, 海嘯 or 海啸.

海德爾 is the name Haider in Chinese (Mandarin).

海耶斯 is the name Hayes in Chinese (Mandarin).

海恩斯 is the name Haynes in Chinese (Mandarin).

海魯拉 is the name Hayrullah in Chinese (Mandarin).

海伍德 is the name Haywood in Chinese (Mandarin).

海迪卡 is the name Hedika in Chinese (Mandarin).

海德薇 is the name Hedwig in Chinese (Mandarin).

This is a common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the male German name Heiner.

This is a common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the male German name Helder.

海爾格 is the name Helga in Chinese (Mandarin).

海絲特 is the name Hester in Chinese (Mandarin).

海伍德 is the name Heywood in Chinese (Mandarin).

海勒姆 is the name Hiram in Chinese (Mandarin).

海兵隊 is the Japanese and Korean way to express “Marine Corps” or simply “Marines.” It is not specific, so this can be the Marine Corps of any country, such as the British Royal Marines to the U.S. Marines.

Breaking down each character, this means:
“ocean/sea soldiers/army corps/regiment/group.”

海王星 is the Japanese Kanji, old Korean Hanja, and Chinese title for the planet Neptune.

海王星 literally means “Sea God Star” (all planets end in the character that also means “star”).

This is a common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the male Arabic name Souhail.

葉海亞 is the name Yahya in Chinese (Mandarin).

海東劍道 is the Korean martial arts style that means Eastern Sea Sword Way.

The character meanings break down this way:
海 = Sea
東 = East/Eastern
劍 = Sword
道 = Way/Path/Style/Method

This can sometimes be romanized as “Hae Dong Kum Do,” “Haidong Kendo,” “Hae Dong Geom Do,” “Haedong Geomdo,” or “Haedong Kumdo.”

If you want this written in modern Korean Hangul (해동검도) instead of Hanja (Chinese), click on the Hangul characters next to the Korean flag above, instead of the regular button.

海因里希 is the name Heinrich in Chinese (Mandarin).

四海為家 literally reads, “Four Seas Serve-As [my/one's] Home.”

Together, 四海 which literally means “four seas” is understood to mean “the whole world” or “the seven seas.” It's presumed to be an ancient word from back when only four seas were known - so it equates to the modern English term, “seven seas.”

This can be translated or understood in a few different ways:
To regard the four corners of the world all as home.
To feel at home anywhere.
To roam about unconstrained.
To consider the entire country, or the world, to be one's own.

海洛尼瑪 is the name Hyronima in Chinese (Mandarin).

海豹部隊 is the title for United States Navy SEALs in Chinese. The U.S. part is implied, as few, if any, other nations claim to have sailors with the title “navy seals.”

Sometimes the term 海豹突击队 (Simplified) or 海豹突擊隊 (Traditional) is also used in Chinese. It means “Seal Commando Team.”

學海無涯 is a Chinese proverb that reads, “sea of learning, no horizon.”

Colloquially, it means there are no limits to what one still has left to learn.

This would be the Chinese equivalent to the quote from Hippocrates, “ars longa, vita brevis,” meaning “it takes a long time to acquire and perfect one's expertise.”

文江學海 is a Chinese proverb that reads, “river of literacy, a sea of learning”

This suggests that there is a lot to learn in the world, with an eternal amount of reading and things to study.

文江學海 is one way to translate the quote from Hippocrates, “ars longa, vita brevis,” meaning “it takes a long time to acquire and perfect one's expertise.”

烏海亞納 is the name Uhyawna in Chinese (Mandarin).

米海兵隊 is the Japanese way to write “United States Marine Corps” or simply “U.S. Marines.”

Breaking down each Kanji, this means:
“rice (American) ocean/sea soldiers/army/military corps/regiment/group.”

This title will only make sense in Japanese, it is not the same in Chinese! Make sure you know your audience before ordering a custom wall scroll.

If you are wondering about rice, America is known as “rice country” or “rice kingdom” when literally translated. The Kanji for rice is often used as an abbreviation in front of words (like a sub-adjective) to make something “American.” Americans say “rice burner” for a Japanese car and “rice rocket” for a Japanese motorcycle. If you did the same in Japanese, it would have the opposite meaning.

Note: I have not verified this but I’ve found this title used for U.S. Marines in Korean articles, so it’s most likely a normal Korean term as well (but only in Korean Hanja).

四海升平 literally means “all four oceans at peace,” which is a way to express “world peace.”

海軍陸戰隊 is the Chinese way to express “Marine Corps.” This could be the Marine Corps of virtually any country that has an amphibious military force.

Let me know if you want a more specific title, such as British Royal Marines or U.S. Marine Corps.

The Chinese title for Marines is very verbose...
Breaking down each character this means:
“ocean/sea military/arms shore/land fighting/war/battle corps/team/group.”

海軍陸戰隊員 is the Chinese way to express “Marine.” (as in a member of the Marine Corps). It is not country-specific, so it could be the Royal Marines, U.S. Marines, Chinese Marines, etc.
In Australian English, they would translate this as “Naval Infantryman.”

Breaking down each character this means:
“ocean/sea military/arms shore/land fighting/war/battle corps/team/group person/member.” Note that the first two characters are presented together but outside of this phrase mean “navy” (sea military).

苦海無邊, 回頭是岸 can be translated almost directly as “The sea of bitterness has no bounds, turn your head to see the shore.”

Often this proverb refers to how Buddhist enlightenment can allow one to shed off the abyss of worldly suffering. But it can apply to other religions. If you find yourself trapped in the hardship of this worldly life, take a new turn, and seek a path to salvation.

福如東海壽比南山 is a phrase that means “May you have good fortune as great as the eastern oceans, and may your life last as long as the southern mountains.”

In ancient Chinese mythology, the eastern oceans and southern mountains are where God resides (basically it is the same as saying “heaven”). So it's like saying, “May your good fortune and life be as vast as the heavens.”

There is also a longer, 14-character version of this phrase. Also, this can be cut into two scrolls (with half the phrase on each side - great for hanging on either side of a doorway). Just let me know if you'd like a special version (there is an additional cost).

海為龍世界雲是鶴家鄉 is a somewhat poetic way to say that everyone and everything has its place in the world.

The first line (which is the column on the right) says, “The Ocean is the World of the Dragon.” The next column says, “The Clouds are the Domain of the Cranes.”

The image to the right is what this calligraphy can look like in xing-kaishu style by a Master Calligrapher.

This is a poem, including a title, that celebrates the tactics and virtues of the Shaolin Kung Fu Monks for future generations.