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海面 (hǎi miàn) — sea surface; sea level (used in measurements)

Definition

海面 is the surface of the sea, used literally (calm sea) or as a reference level in measurements — unlike 海拔 ('height above sea level'), which is a number, 海面 is the surface itself. Contrast with 水面, the surface of any body of water.

noun
sea surfacesea level (used in measurements)

Examples

  • 海面。
    Jīn tiān hǎi miàn hěn píng jìng.
    Today the sea surface is calm.
  • 海面。
    hǎi miàn Zài yáng guāng xià shǎn shǎn fā guāng.
    The sea surface sparkles under the sunlight.
  • 海面。
    Zhè zuò dēng tǎ wèi yú hǎi miàn yǐ shàng wǔ shí mǐ.
    This lighthouse is located fifty meters above sea level.

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
面miànsurface

海 means “sea” and 面 means “surface”, so 海面 is the sea surface.

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 →

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Geography & Landforms

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