Hai-nan

A form of Hainan — A province off the coast of southern China, primarily made up of Hainan Island. Capital: Haikou.

OriginMandarin 海南 →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. alternativeAlternative form of Hainan.

    Its territory is ſeparated, by a narrow ſtrait only, from the iſle of Hai-nan : 315 miles S W Canton.

    1802, Jedidiah Morse, Elijah Parish, “Loui-tcheou-fou”, in A New Gazetteer of the Eastern Continent, Samuel Etheridge, page https://archive.org/details/newgazetteerofea00mors/page/n433/
    3 more examples

    COMMUNIST CHINA: Peking is expanding its naval activity in the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea some 200 miles southeast of Hai-nan Island.

    1971, Central Intelligence Bulletin, Directorate of Intelligence, page 5

    Synoptic and satellite data also indicated that Warren's vertical axis was tilted southward as he tracked over Hai-nan. After passing over Hai-nan, Warren emerged into the Gulf of Tonkin.

    1995, Jesus B. Tupaz, John W. Diercks, Dean A. Morss, 1981 Annual Typhoon Report, Joint Typhoon Warning Center, page 69

    This was the southernmost province of the Empire, comprising what is now north Vietnam and the island of Hai-nan.

    2007, Nigel Cawthorne, Daughter of Heaven, Oneworld Publications, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 77

Origin

  1. Mandarin海南
  2. EnglishHai-nan

Wade-Giles transcription of Mandarin 海南 (Hǎinán).

More words from Mandarin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Hai-nan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hai-nan

MLA

“Hai-nan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hai-nan. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hai-nan,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hai-nan.

Source: Hai-nan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.