下海

Chinese

		under; next; lower under; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter	ocean; sea
simp. and trad. (下海)		下	海
Literally: “to go into the sea”.

Etymology

In the business sense, the analogy is that going out to the sea is usually risky and unpredictable.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): xiàhǎi

(Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄏㄞˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): haa⁶ hoi²
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hǎ-hái / hā-hái / hēe-hái

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: xiàhǎi
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄏㄞˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: siàhǎi
  - Wade–Giles: hsia⁴-hai³
  - Yale: syà-hǎi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiahhae
  - Palladius: сяхай (sjaxaj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ä⁵¹ xaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: haa⁶ hoi²
  - Yale: hah hói
  - Cantonese Pinyin: haa⁶ hoi²
  - Guangdong Romanization: ha⁶ hoi²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /haː²² hɔːi̯³⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hǎ-hái
  - Tâi-lô: hǎ-hái
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ha²² hai⁵⁵⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hā-hái
  - Tâi-lô: hā-hái
  - Phofsit Daibuun: haxhae
  - IPA (Xiamen): /ha²²⁻²¹ hai⁵³/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hēe-hái
  - Tâi-lô: hēe-hái
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /hɛ²²⁻²¹ hai⁵³/

Verb

下海

(literally) to sail out to the sea; to go to sea; to go fishing, swimming, surfing (or other activities) in the sea
(figuratively, chiefly Mainland China) to resign from one's profession and venture into doing business
下海經商／下海经商 ― xiàhǎi jīngshāng ― to go into business
(figuratively, of an amateur performer) to turn professional
(figuratively, of a woman) to be driven to prostitution
(figuratively, slang) to go into the pornography or sex work industry

Synonyms

(to sail out the sea): 出海 (chūhǎi); (Southern Min) 落海

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “to sail out to sea”): 靠岸 (kào'àn), 泊岸 (bó'àn)
(antonym(s) of “to go into the pornography or sex work industry”): 上岸 (shàng'àn)