大海
dàhǎi · HSK 2
sea
🌊 大 = big + 海 = sea → big sea = the open ocean
大 (dà) means big or great; 海 (hǎi) means sea. Together 大海 literally reads as big-sea, the standard word for the open ocean as opposed to a small bay or inland water.
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.
海 — water radical 氵 + 每 (phonetic)
海 is a phono-semantic compound. The 氵 (water) radical signals the meaning—a vast body of water—while 每 supplies the sound. Originally referring to the sea or ocean, it later extended figuratively to mean 'vast' or 'a great quantity,' as in 人海 (a sea of people).