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

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 Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khú-hói
  - Hakka Romanization System: ku^ˋ hoi^ˋ
  - 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

(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].