Meaning of 国外
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- abroad
- external (affairs)
- overseas
- foreign
How to use 国外
国外 is a place word, so it often follows 在 (zài) or 去 (qù), or comes before a noun with 的. It can also act like an adjective meaning foreign, as in 国外的朋友 (guówài de péngyou) friends from abroad. Example: 我哥哥在国外工作。(Wǒ gēge zài guówài gōngzuò.) My older brother works abroad.
国 (guó) means country and 外 (wài) means outside. Put them together and you get the place outside your country: abroad.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 国外 and 外国 (wàiguó). 国外 means abroad as a location, while 外国 means a foreign country or foreign, so say 去国外 (qù guówài) for going abroad and 外国人 (wàiguórén) for a foreigner, not 国外人.
国外 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
国 guó · country · 8 strokes
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外 wài · outside · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 国外.
| 国家 | guójiā | country; nation; state |
| 中国 | Zhōngguó | China |
| 外国 | wàiguó | foreign country |
| 外边 | wàibian | outside; outer surface |
| 外语 | wàiyǔ | foreign language |
| 国际 | guójì | international |
| 全国 | quánguó | whole nation; nationwide |
| 以外 | yǐwài | apart from; other than |
| 出国 | chūguó | to go abroad; to leave the country |
| 回国 | huí guó | to return to one's home country |
| 外卖 | wàimài | (of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal; takeout (business) |
| 外地 | wàidì | parts of the country other than where one is |
Questions about 国外
What does 国外 mean?
国外 (guó wài) means "abroad; external (affairs)".
How do you write 国外?
国外 is made of 2 characters: 国 (8 strokes), 外 (5 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 国外 an HSK word?
Yes. 国外 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 国外 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 国外 is written 國外.
What is the opposite of 国外?
The opposite is 国内 (guónèi), meaning domestic or inside the country. For example, 国内新闻 (guónèi xīnwén) is domestic news and 国外新闻 (guówài xīnwén) is foreign news.
Can I say 出国 instead of 去国外?
Yes. 出国 (chūguó) means to go abroad and is very common in speech, as in 他明年出国。(Tā míngnián chūguó.) He is going abroad next year. 去国外 means the same but is a little longer.