Meaning of 外交
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- diplomacy
- diplomatic
- foreign affairs
Measure word: 個|个
How to use 外交
外交 is mostly used for relations between countries, and it often appears before another noun, as in 外交部 (wàijiāobù, Ministry of Foreign Affairs) or 外交官 (wàijiāoguān, diplomat). Example: 他在外交部工作。(Tā zài wàijiāobù gōngzuò.) He works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
外 (wài) means outside and 交 (jiāo) means to interact or make contact, so 外交 is how a country deals with the outside world. Think of it as making friends beyond your borders.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 外交 to mean socializing or making friends with foreigners in daily life, but it refers to official relations between states. For personal socializing, use 交朋友 (jiāo péngyou) or 社交 (shèjiāo).
外交 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
交 jiāo · to hand over · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 外交.
| 外国 | wàiguó | foreign country |
| 国外 | guó wài | abroad; external (affairs) |
| 外边 | wàibian | outside; outer surface |
| 外语 | wàiyǔ | foreign language |
| 交给 | jiāo gěi | to give; to deliver; to hand over |
| 以外 | yǐwài | apart from; other than |
| 交通 | jiāotōng | to be connected; traffic |
| 交朋友 | jiāo péngyou | to make friends; (dialect) to start an affair with sb |
| 外卖 | wàimài | (of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal; takeout (business) |
| 公交车 | gōngjiāochē | public transport vehicle; town bus |
| 外地 | wàidì | parts of the country other than where one is |
| 外面 | wàimiàn | outside (also pr. [wai4 mian5] for this sense); surface |
Questions about 外交
What does 外交 mean?
外交 (wàijiāo) means "diplomacy; diplomatic" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 外交?
外交 is made of 2 characters: 外 (5 strokes), 交 (6 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 外交 an HSK word?
Yes. 外交 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say diplomat in Chinese?
A diplomat is 外交官 (wàijiāoguān). The ending 官 (guān) means official, so it is literally a foreign affairs official.
Can 外交 describe a person who is good with people?
Not usually. In Chinese, a tactful, sociable person is more often described as 会说话 (huì shuōhuà) or 善于交际 (shànyú jiāojì), while 外交 stays tied to national and international affairs.