Meaning of 外地
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- parts of the country other than where one is
How to use 外地
外地 refers to other cities or regions within the same country, often in contrast to where the speaker lives or comes from. It is common in phrases like 外地人 (wàidìrén, someone from another place) and 去外地 (qù wàidì, go out of town). Example: 他明天要去外地出差。(Tā míngtiān yào qù wàidì chūchāi.) He is going out of town on a business trip tomorrow.
外 (wài) means outside and 地 (dì) means place or land, so 外地 is a place outside your own area. Picture stepping out of your hometown onto other ground.
Common mistake: Learners often use 外地 for foreign countries, but 外地 stays inside the country. For abroad, use 国外 (guó wài) or 外国 (wàiguó).
外地 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
地 de · -ly · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 外地.
| 地方 | dìfang | region; regional (away from the central administration) |
| 地上 | dìshang | on the ground; on the floor |
| 地点 | dìdiǎn | place; site |
| 地图 | dìtú | map |
| 外国 | wàiguó | foreign country |
| 国外 | guó wài | abroad; external (affairs) |
| 外边 | wàibian | outside; outer surface |
| 外语 | wàiyǔ | foreign language |
| 地球 | dìqiú | the earth |
| 以外 | yǐwài | apart from; other than |
| 地铁 | dìtiě | underground railway; subway; subway train |
| 草地 | cǎodì | lawn; meadow |
Questions about 外地
What does 外地 mean?
外地 (wàidì) means "parts of the country other than where one is" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 外地?
外地 is made of 2 characters: 外 (5 strokes), 地 (6 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 外地 an HSK word?
Yes. 外地 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 外地人 mean, and is it rude?
外地人 (wàidìrén) means a person from another city or province, not a local. It is usually neutral, but tone and context can make it sound like an outsider label, so be careful how you use it.
What is the opposite of 外地?
The usual opposite is 本地 (běndì), meaning local or this area. For example, 本地人 (běndìrén) is a local person, while 外地人 is someone from elsewhere.