苦海

Chinese

		bitter; intensely; miserable bitter; intensely; miserable; painful	ocean; sea
trad. (苦海)		苦	海
simp. #(苦海)		苦	海

Etymology

Calque of Sanskrit दुःख समुद्र (duḥkha samudra).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): kǔhǎi

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄨˇ ㄏㄞˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fu² hoi²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): khú-hói
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): khó͘-hái

  (Teochew, Peng'im): kou² hai²

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵khu-he

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: kǔhǎi [Phonetic: kúhǎi]
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄨˇ ㄏㄞˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: kǔhǎi
    • Wade–Giles: kʻu³-hai³
    • Yale: kǔ-hǎi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kuuhae
    • Palladius: кухай (kuxaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰu²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: fu² hoi²
    • Yale: fú hói
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fu² hoi²
    • Guangdong Romanization: fu² hoi²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fuː³⁵ hɔːi̯³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khú-hói
    • Hakka Romanization System: ku` hoi`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ku³ hoi³
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰu³¹ hoi̯³¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khó͘-hái
    • Tâi-lô: khóo-hái
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qofhae
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kʰɔ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hai⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰɔ⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ hai⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kʰɔ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hai⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kʰɔ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hai⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰɔ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ hai⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: kou² hai²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: khóu hái
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰou⁵²⁻³⁵ hai⁵²⁻²¹/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵khu-he
    • MiniDict: khu^去 he
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²khu-he
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kʰu³³ he⁴⁴/

Noun

苦海

1. (Buddhism or figurative) the sea of bitterness; the ocean of suffering; the abyss of misery; this (weary) world

   脫離苦海／脱离苦海  ―  tuōlí kǔhǎi  ―  to escape from the abyss of misery

Derived terms

• 出苦海
• 無邊苦海／无边苦海
• 脫離苦海／脱离苦海
• 芒芒苦海
• 苦海無涯／苦海无涯
• 苦海無邊／苦海无边
• 苦海無邊，回頭是岸／苦海无边，回头是岸
• 茫茫苦海

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (苦海):

• → Japanese: 苦(く)海(かい) (kukai)
• → Korean: 고해(苦海) (gohae)
• → Vietnamese: khổ hải (苦海)

Further reading

• Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “苦海” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].