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EVERY OCEAN HAS WATER
毎・海
Except for one element, these two kanji look virtually the same. In this section, we will examine the differences between 毎 and 海, and create a sentence which will help you to remember them both.
The first character, 毎, is a highly useful grammatical element that means “-every.” The examples below all use the on reading of the character, MAI:
毎日（まいにち） everyday
毎月（まいつき） every month
- 毎週（まいしゅう） every week
毎回（まいかい） every time
毎度（まいど） every time
- 毎年（まいねん） every year
海 carries the meaning of “ocean.” It can be read two ways: KAI (on) and umi (kun):
海上（かいじょう）[on] the sea
海里（かいり） nautical mile
- 海戦（かいせん） naval battle
海辺（うみべ）seashore
The only visual difference between 毎 and 海 is the “water radical” at the far left of the latter. Here is a sentence which we can use to remember this distinction:
Every 毎 ocean 海 has water.