海
うみ · umi · JLPT N5 · noun
sea
🌊 umi sounds like 'ooh, me!' — what you shout running into the sea
The kanji 海 = water radical 氵 + 毎 (every): every drop of water ends up in the sea. Say umi as 'oo-mee', like calling 'ooh, me!' when someone asks who wants to go to the beach.
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).