Japanese symbol for “ocean”
海洋
かいよう
Romaji: kaiyou
ocean; sea
In Japanese, ocean is 海洋, read かいよう (kaiyou).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n ocean; sea
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “ocean”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 海 | うみ umi | sea; ocean; waters |
| 大海 | たいかい taikai | ocean; large sea |
| 大洋 | たいよう taiyou | ocean |
| 海原 | うなばら unabara | ocean; sea; the deep |
| 遠洋 | えんよう en'you | ocean; deep sea |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 海外 | かいがい kaigai | foreign; abroad; overseas |
| 海岸 | かいがん kaigan | seashore; coast; seaside |
| 海軍 | かいぐん kaigun | navy; naval force |
| 北海道 | ほっかいどう hokkaidou | Hokkaido (island, prefectural-level administrative unit) |
| 海上 | かいじょう kaijou | (on the) sea; surface of the sea |
| 西洋 | せいよう seiyou | the West; the Occident; Western countries |
| 東洋 | とうよう touyou | the East; the Orient; (East) Asia |
| 洋服 | ようふく youfuku | Western-style clothes (cf. traditional Japanese clothes) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “ocean”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.