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溟

míng
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 (classical) the sea; vast ocean
  2. 2 (classical) drizzling; misty

Examples

HSK 7-9
地势极而南溟深。
Dìshì jí ér nán míng shēn.
The land stretches to its limit and the southern sea is deep.

Tips

history
Not used alone in modern Chinese; it survives in literary words for the ocean - 北溟 (the Northern Sea of 庄子) and 沧溟. The right side 冥 is the phonetic, also seen in 瞑 and 螟.
register
Literary only; modern Chinese uses 海 or 海洋 for the sea.

Components

radical
氵 shuǐ
water
The water radical 氵 is 水 in left-side form. It marks 溟 as a body of water - the vast, dim sea.
phonetic
冥 míng
dark; obscure
Supplies the sound. 冥 (dark, dim) gives the míng reading and adds a flavour of vast darkness fitting the deep sea; it heads the family with 瞑 and 螟.

Stroke Order

溟 míng