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海运 (hǎi yùn) — to ship by sea; sea freight

Definition

海运 is commercial shipping of goods by sea — the activity/logistics sense. 航海 is sailing/navigating the seas, the act of a vessel underway.

verb
to ship by seasea freight

Examples

  • 海运。
    Zhè pī huò wù wǒ men jué dìng hǎi yùn.
    We decided to ship this batch of goods by sea.
  • 海运。
    hǎi yùn Bǐ kōng yùn gèng jīng jì.
    Sea shipping is more economical than air freight.
  • 海运？
    Nǐ gōng sī zhǔ yào zuò hǎi yùn hái shì lù yùn?
    Does your company mainly do sea transportation or land transportation?

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.

海hǎisea
运yùntransport

Transport by sea, as in sea shipping.

Characters in this word

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

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.

Open 海 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 運; 运 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòmotion
Sound part声符shēngfú
軍
軍jūn運yùn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 運 combines 辵, meaning motion, with 軍 to give the sound; the simplified 运 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 运 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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