公海 (gōng hǎi) — high seas; international waters | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The area of ocean outside any country's territorial waters — belongs to no nation and is governed by international law.

noun

high seasinternational waters

Examples

公海。
gōng hǎi Bù shǔ yú rèn hé guó jiā.
The high seas do not belong to any country.
公海。
Xǔ duō yú chuán zài gōng hǎi shàng bǔ yú.
Many fishing boats fish on the high seas.
公海。
gōng hǎi Shàng de háng xíng zì yóu shòu guó jì fǎ bǎo hù.
The freedom of navigation on the high seas is protected by international law.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

“公” gives public, “海” gives sea; together public sea means international waters.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

One theory sees 公 as a picture of a wide-mouthed, round-bottomed jar.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵每海

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

每měi海hǎi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

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