follow along

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 沿 has 8 strokes and concerns locations following a road or waterside.
• Basic usage: 海沿い is read うみぞい, and 沿岸 is read えんがん.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Reading within a word
  • 沿い in 海沿い is read ぞい. The on-reading えん from 沿岸 does not fit here.
• Places along the sea
  • 海沿いの道 is a road along the sea.
  • 島の沿岸で海水を採取した means collecting seawater off an island's coast; 沿岸 denotes the coastal area.