Meaning of 外
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- outside
- in addition
- foreign
- external
How to use 外
外 appears in many common words about the outside or foreign things, such as 外国 (wàiguó), 外语 (wàiyǔ), and 外卖 (wàimài). It also follows a noun to mean "outside of," as in 门外 (mén wài). Example: 我在外边等你。(Wǒ zài wàibian děng nǐ.) I'll wait for you outside.
外 (wài) is made of 夕 (xī, evening) on the left and 卜 (bǔ, divination) on the right. Picture someone stepping outside in the evening to read signs in the sky, and you have "outside."
Common mistake: Learners often write the left side as タ or confuse it with 多 (duō), which stacks two 夕. Remember 外 has one 夕 plus 卜 on the right.
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.
外 wài · outside · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 外.
| 外国 | wàiguó | foreign country |
| 国外 | guó wài | abroad; external (affairs) |
| 外边 | wàibian | outside; outer surface |
| 外语 | wàiyǔ | foreign language |
| 以外 | yǐwài | apart from; other than |
| 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 |
| 外面 | wàimiàn | outside (also pr. [wai4 mian5] for this sense); surface |
| 另外 | lìngwài | additional; in addition |
| 意外 | yìwài | unexpected; accident |
| 外交 | wàijiāo | diplomacy; diplomatic |
| 外文 | wàiwén | foreign language (written) |
Questions about 外
What does 外 mean?
外 (wài) means "outside; in addition" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 外?
外 is made of 1 character: 外 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 外 an HSK word?
Yes. 外 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 外国 and 国外?
外国 (wàiguó) means "a foreign country" and often works like an adjective, as in 外国人 (wàiguórén, foreigner). 国外 (guó wài) means "abroad" as a place, as in 他在国外工作 (tā zài guó wài gōngzuò), he works abroad.
How do I say "besides" or "other than" with 外?
Use 以外 (yǐwài), often in the pattern 除了...以外 (chúle... yǐwài). For example, 除了他以外，大家都来了 (chúle tā yǐwài, dàjiā dōu lái le) means everyone came except him.