Meaning of 外来
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- external
- foreign
- outside
How to use 外来
外来 is usually placed before a noun to describe people, things, or ideas that come from elsewhere, such as 外来人口 (migrant population) or 外来文化 (foreign culture). Example: 这个城市有很多外来人口。(Zhège chéngshì yǒu hěn duō wàilái rénkǒu.) This city has many people who moved here from elsewhere.
外 (wài) means outside and 来 (lái) means to come, so 外来 is something that comes in from the outside. Picture a guest arriving from beyond your gate.
Common mistake: Learners often treat 外来 as the same as 外国 (wàiguó). 外来 does not have to mean another country. 外来人口 often means people from another province or city, not foreigners.
外来 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
来 lái · to come · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 外来.
| 回来 | huílái | to return; to come back |
| 起来 | qǐlái | to stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2] |
| 出来 | chūlái | to come out; to appear |
| 进来 | jìnlái | to come in |
| 来到 | láidào | to arrive; to come |
| 外国 | wàiguó | foreign country |
| 国外 | guó wài | abroad; external (affairs) |
| 外边 | wàibian | outside; outer surface |
| 外语 | wàiyǔ | foreign language |
| 过来 | guòlái | to come over; to manage |
| 带来 | dàilái | to bring; (fig.) to bring about; to produce |
| 来自 | láizì | to come from (a place); From: (in email header) |
Questions about 外来
What does 外来 mean?
外来 (wàilái) means "external; foreign" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 外来?
外来 is made of 2 characters: 外 (5 strokes), 来 (7 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 外来 an HSK word?
Yes. 外来 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 外来 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 外来 is written 外來.
What does 外来词 mean?
外来词 (wàiláicí) means loanword, a word borrowed from another language. Examples are 咖啡 (kāfēi, coffee) and 沙发 (shāfā, sofa).
Can 外来 be used as a verb like 进来 (jìnlái)?
Usually not. 进来 describes the action of coming in, while 外来 works like an adjective meaning coming from outside. You say 外来的人 (a person from outside), not 他外来了.