洋 (yáng): ocean
洋 (yáng) is a Chinese character meaning “ocean.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 羊 (phonetic). It ranks #803 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 洋 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- ocean
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 洋 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 洋
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 洋葱noun | yáng cōng | onion (Allium cepa) |
| 太平洋 | tài píng yáng | Pacific Ocean |
| 大西洋proper-noun | dà xī yáng | Atlantic Ocean |
| 洋娃娃noun | yáng wá wa | doll (of Western appearance) |
| 大洋noun | dà yáng | ocean |
| 西洋proper-noun | xī yáng | the West (Europe and North America) |
| 洋溢verb | yáng yì | brimming with |
| 巡洋舰noun | xún yáng jiàn | cruiser (warship) |
| 出洋相verb | chū yáng xiàng | to make a fool of oneself |
| 洋装noun | yáng zhuāng | Western-style dress |
| 洋服noun | yáng fú | Western-style clothes |
| 洋流noun | yáng liú | ocean current |
| 洋相noun | yáng xiàng | social gaffe or blunder |
| 洋基proper-noun | yáng jī | New York Yankees (US baseball team) |
| 洋鬼子 | yáng guǐ zi | foreign devil |
洋 appears in 101 compound words: 57 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 洋 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
to lament one's littleness in face of something vast and great; to feel powerless in face of a great task
Example Sentences
很多跨国公司都在太平洋两岸设有分公司，业务往来十分频繁。
Hěn duō kuàguó gōngsī dōu zài Tàipíngyáng liǎng'àn shè yǒu fēngōngsī, yèwù wǎnglái shífēn pínfán.
Many multinational companies have branch offices on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, with very frequent business exchanges.
...传遭拘罚18亿 扛布者:疑被中国政府“远洋捕捞”
. . . chuán zāo jū fá 1 8 yì gāng bù zhě : yí bèi zhōng guó zhèng fǔ yuǎn yáng bǔ lāo
... It is rumored that he was fined 1.8 billion Cloth bearers: suspected of being "ocean-going fishing" by the Chinese government
晨光追击│“丰盛”佳态洋溢
chén guāng zhuī jī fēng shèng jiā tài yáng yì
Morning light pursuit│"Abundant" is full of beauty
「“一带一路”陕西人」漂洋过海来团圆
yī dài yī lù 陕 xī rén piāo yáng guò hǎi lái tuán yuán
"Belt and Road" Shaanxi People: Crossing Oceans to Reunite
通讯|荷兰海牙市政厅洋溢浓浓年味儿
tōng xùn hé lán hǎi yá shì zhèng tīng yáng yì nóng nóng nián wèi ér
News | The Hague City Hall Filled with Festive Atmosphere
海洋邂逅非遗 上海海昌解锁新春文旅新玩法
hǎi yáng 邂 逅 fēi yí shǎng hǎi hǎi chāng xiè suǒ xīn chūn wén lǚ xīn wán fǎ
Ocean Encounter with Intangible Cultural Heritage: Shanghai Haichang Unlocks New Cultural Tourism Experiences for the Spring Festival
中国与美国隔着哪个大洋？
Zhōngguó yǔ Měiguó gé zhe nǎge dàyáng?
Which ocean separates China and America?
谁能揭开海洋的奥秘？
Shéi néng jiēkāi hǎiyáng de àomì?
Who is able to reveal the mysteries of the sea?
她给了我一个漂亮的洋娃娃。
Tā gěi le wǒ yī gè piàoliang de yángwáwa.
She gave me a pretty doll.
他用30天横渡了太平洋。
Tāyòng 30 tiān héngdù le Tàipíng Yáng.
He crossed the Pacific Ocean in thirty days.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 氵 (water) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 洋 (yáng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 洋 and 鲜?
How many strokes does 洋 have?
What is the radical of 洋?
What are the components of 洋?
What are common words containing 洋?
What characters sound the same as 洋 (yáng)?
Is 洋 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 洋 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.