In Japanese what does Kai mean?

Question

what does the word kai mean, i've heard that it means the ocean, is this true?

Answer 1

Kai has many meanings that depend upon context and the kanji being used. Kai as just the ocean isn't correct; kaiyou or umi are the words for ocean.

Answer 2

kai does mean ocean in japanese.

though kai has 57 different meanings or characters.

kai is 'on reading' of a character 'sea / ocean' in japanese.

'on reading' are used for idiom/phrase.

so normally we use 'kai' with different character(s) and make idiom.

i suggest to use 'umi' if you want clear meaning and reading. umi is 'kun reading', which shows meaning of characters, of ocean and sea.

there're tons of same 'on reading' but different meaning in japanese. so really really confusing.

Answer 3

could mean "times" as in 1, 2, 3 times