hǎi yáng
ocean
海洋生物学家研究海洋生物。
hǎiyáng shēngwùxuéjiā yánjiū hǎiyáng shēngwù.
Marine biologists study marine life.
海洋污染是一个严重的环境问题。
hǎiyáng wūrǎn shì yīgè yánzhòng de huánjìng wèntí.
Marine pollution is a serious environmental problem.
海洋是地球上最大的生态系统。
hǎiyáng shì dìqiú shàng zuìdà de shēngtài xìtǒng.
The ocean is the largest ecosystem on Earth.
海 (hǎi)
sea
洋 (yáng)
ocean
陆地 (lùdì)
land
大陆 (dàlù)
continent
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The Chinese word 海洋 (hǎiyáng) for "ocean" is composed of two characters: 海 (hǎi) meaning "sea" and 洋 (yáng) meaning "ocean" or "vast body of water". The character 海 is a pictograph depicting water with waves, while the character 洋 is a combination of the characters 水 (shuǐ) meaning "water" and 央 (yāng) meaning "central" or "middle". Together, the two characters 海洋 convey the idea of a vast and boundless body of water, hence their meaning of "ocean". It's worth noting that while 海 (hǎi) specifically refers to a sea, 海洋 (hǎiyáng) is used to refer to the ocean in a broader sense, encompassing all the major bodies of saltwater on Earth.
