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外: outside; external

 

外 wài

noun
: outside
: in addition
: foreign; external

Kun Reading

外 | そと soto

noun
: outside; exterior
: open air
: other place

外 | ほか hoka

noun | no-adjective | adverbial noun
: other (esp. places and things); the rest

外 | よそ yoso

noun
: another place; somewhere else; strange parts
: outside (one’s family or group); those people
: unrelated matter

外す | はずす hazusu

godan verb with su ending | transitive verb
: to unfasten; to undo
: to remove; to take off; to deinstall
: to leave; to step out; to slip away
: to miss (a target)

外に | ほかに hokani

adverb
: in addition; besides

外れ | はずれ hazure

noun | suffix
: end; verge; extremity; tip; outskirts

On Reading

外 | がい gai

noun suffix
: outside of; not covered by

ゲ ge

 Usage:

外人 wai4ren2: outsider; foreigner; stranger
[外人 | がいじん gaijin: foreigner]
外語[语] wai4yu3: foreign language
[外語 | がいご gaigo: foreign language]
外國[国] wai4guo2: foreign (country)
[外国 | がいこく gaikoku]
外界 wai4jie4: the outside world; external
[がいかい gaikai: outside world; physical world; the externals]
外邊[边] wai4bian: outside; outer surface; abroad; place other than one’s home
[外辺 | がいへん gaihen: outskirts; periphery; environs]
外交 wai4jiao1: diplomacy [がいこう gaikou]
外地 wai4di4: parts of the country other than where one is
[がいち gaichi: overseas; outlying areas]
外陰[阴] wai4yin1: vulva
[外陰部 | がいいんぶ gaiinbu: pudenda; external genitalia]
外祖母 wai4zu3mu3: maternal grandmother [がいそぼ gaisobo]
外祖父 wai4zu3fu4: maternal grandfather [がいそふ gaisofu]
除了… 以外 chu2le…yi3wai4: besides; apart from; in addition to; except for

除此之外 chu2 ci3 zhi1 wai4: apart from this; in addition to this

另外 ling4wai4: additional; in addition; besides; separate; other; moreover; furthermore
此外 ci3wai4: besides; in addition; moreover; furthermore
以外 yi3wai4: apart from; other than; except for; external; outside of; on the other side of; beyond
[いがい igai]
意外 yi4wai: unexpected; accident; mishap

交通意外 jiao1 tong1 yi4 wai4: traffic accident; car crash

課[课]外 ke4wai4: extracurricular [課外 | かがい kagai]
裏[里]外 li3wai4: inside and out; or so
戶外 hu4wai4: outdoor [戸外|こがい kogai: open air; outdoors]
窗外 chuang1wai4: outside [窓外 | そうがい sougai]
紫外線 zi3wai4 xian4: UV ray [しがいせん shigaisen]
群眾外包 [群众外包] qun2 zhong4 wai4 bao1
: crowdsourcing; abbr. to 眾包|众包 zhong4 bao1



Japanese common word | expression | yojijukugo 四字熟語 | idiom | proverb
外ならぬ | ほかならぬ hoka naranu
: (expression) nothing but; none other than

外に何か | ほかになにか hokani nani ka
: (expression) is there anything else?

*外剛内柔 | がいごうないじゅう gaigou naijuu
: (yoji) being tough on the outside but soft at heart; a faint-hearted person pretending to be brave

自己疎外 | じこそがい jiko sogai
: (yoji) self-alienation

内外多事 | ないがいたじ naigai taji
: (yoji) things being very eventful at home and abroad

内剛外柔 | ないごうがいじゅう naigou gaijuu
: (yoji) gentle on the outside but tough on the inside; an iron hand in a velvet glove

内柔外剛 | ないじゅうがいごう naijuu gaigou
: (yoji) tough on the outside but soft at heart

内憂外患 | ないゆうがいかん naiyuu gaikan
: (yoji) troubles both at home and abroad

内疎外親 | ないそがいしん naiso gaishin
: (yoji) superficially cordial but actually uninterested

外題学問 | げだいがくもん gedai gakumon
: (yoji) putting on a knowing air when one only knows the title of the book (play, etc.); pretending to understand the nature of something when one only knows its name

不慮の外 | ふりょのほか furyo no hoka
: (expression) totally unexpected; completely unforeseen

外でもない | ほかでもない hoka demo nai
: (expression) what I want to say is …; the fact of the matter is …

以外になさそう | いがいになさそう igaini nasasou
: the only way (is to…) (lit. outside of this, it is improbable)

それ以外のものは | それいがいのものは sore igai no mono wa
: (expression) aside from this; aside from these

鬼は外福は内 | おにはそとふくはうち oni wa sotofuku wa uchi
: out with the demon, in with fortune; devils out, good luck in

例外のない規則はない | れいがいのないきそくはない reigai no nai kisoku wa nai
: (proverb) There is no rule without exceptions

四百四病の外 | しひゃくしびょうのほか shihyaku shibyou no hoka
: love-sickness

恋は思案の外 | こいはしあんのほか koi wa shian no hoka
: Love is without reason

恥も外聞もない | はじもがいぶんもない haji mo gaibun mo nai
: not worrying about one’s reputation or appearance; not caring what others think

梯子を外される | はしごをはずされる hashigo o hazusareru
: to be lonely at the top; to be left high and dry by one’s friends; to have the ladder pulled out from under one

関係者以外立入禁止 | かんけいしゃいがいたちいりきんし kankeisha igaitachi irikinshi
: (expression) No Unauthorized Persons. No Unauthorized Entry. Authorized Personnel Only



Chinese expression | chengyu 成語 | idiom | proverb
外強中乾 [外强中干] wai4 qiang2 zhong1 gan1
: strong in appearance but weak in reality

*外剛內柔 [外刚内柔] wai4 gang1 nei4 rou2
: soft on the inside despite one’s hard shell; appearing tough on the outside as to mask one’s inner vulnerability; also written 內柔外剛|内柔外刚 nei4 rou2 wai4 gang1

人才外流 ren2 cai2 wai4 liu2
: brain drain

千里之外 qian1 li3 zhi1 wai4
: thousand miles distant

世外桃源 shi4 wai4 tao2 yuan2
: the Garden of the Peaches of Immortality; Shangri-la; imaginary land of joy and plenty (sim. Utopia, Cockaigne, Shangri-la)

吃裡爬外 [吃里爬外] chi1 li3 pa2 wai4
: to work against the interests of sb one derives support from; to double-cross one’s employer; to bite the hand that feeds you

裡進外出 [里进外出] li3 jin4 wai4 chu1
: too many people coming and going

喜出望外 xi3 chu1 wang4 wai4
: to be pleased beyond one’s expectations; overjoyed at the turn of events

出乎意外 chu1 hu1 yi4 wai4
: beyond expectation; unexpected

出人意外 chu1 ren2 yi4 wai4
: turned out other than expected; unexpected

逍遙法外 [逍遥法外] xiao1 yao2 fa3 wai4
: unfettered and beyond the law; evading retribution; getting away with it (e.g. crimes); still at large

不足為外人道 [不足为外人道] bu4 zu2 wei2 wai4 ren2 dao4
: no use to tell others; let’s keep this between ourselves

胳膊肘朝外拐 ge1 bo5 zhou3 chao2 wai4 guai3
: the elbow turns the wrong way; to favor an outsider instead of someone on one’s own side

仇人相見,分外眼紅 [仇人相见,分外眼红] chou2 ren2 xiang1 jian4 , fen4 wai4 yan3 hong2
: when the enemies come face to face, their eyes blaze with hatred

金玉其外,敗絮其中 [金玉其外,败絮其中] jin1 yu4 qi2 wai4 , bai4 xu4 qi2 zhong1
: gilded exterior, shabby and ruined on the inside

家醜不可外傳 [家丑不可外传] jia1 chou3 bu4 ke3 wai4 chuan2
OR
家醜不可外傳,流言切莫輕信 [家丑不可外传,流言切莫轻信] jia1 chou3 bu4 ke3 wai4 chuan2 , liu2 yan2 qie1 mo4 qing1 xin4
: Don’t spread abroad the shame of the family, don’t believe rumors lightly. Don’t wash your dirty linen in public, don’t listen to others’ gossip. Not airing out one’s dirty laundry.

在家靠父母,出外靠朋友 zai4 jia1 kao4 fu4 mu3 , chu1 wai4 kao4 peng2 you5
: one depends on one’s parents when at home, and on one’s friends when away from home

內行看門道,外行看熱鬧 [内行看门道,外行看热闹] nei4 hang2 kan4 men2 dao5 , wai4 hang2 kan4 re4 nao5
: while the connoisseur recognizes the artistry, the layman simply enjoys the show

兄弟鬩於墻,外禦其侮 xiong1 di4 xi4 yu2 qiang2 , wai4 yu4 qi2 wu3
: internal disunity dissolves at the threat of an invasion from outside

說是一回事,做又是另外一回事 [说是一回事,做又是另外一回事] shuo1 shi4 yi1 hui2 shi4 , zuo4 you4 shi4 ling4 wai4 yi1 hui2 shi4
: Saying is one thing, doing quite another

肥水不流外人田 fei2 shui3 bu4 liu2 wai4 ren2 tian2
: lit. don’t let one’s own fertile water flow into others’ field; fig. keep the goodies within the family (proverb)

馬無夜草不肥,人無外快不富 [马无夜草不肥,人无外快不富] ma3 wu2 ye4 cao3 bu4 fei2 , ren2 wu2 wai4 kuai4 bu4 fu4
: a horse cannot get fat without an extra ration, a man cannot get rich without an extra income

 Etymology:
会意 Associative Compound.
Evening 夕 (xi1: evening radical 36)
divinations 卜 (bo: fortune telling, divination radical 25).



Specialized semantic:
yao3: dip, ladle



 Look-alike:
處 [] chu4 | chu3: place | to dwell
[ところ tokoro, しょす shosu, しょする shosuru. on: ショ sho]



 Examples:

家は家、外は外。
うちはうち、そとはそと。uchi wa uchi, soto wa soto
Our house, our rules.

 
外面好大風。快進來。不要著涼。
wai4mian hao3 da4feng1. kuai4 jin4lai2. bu4yao4 zhao2liang2.
It’s very windy out. Get in quickly. You don’t want to catch a cold.

 Music:

千里之外 – Jay Chou 周杰伦 (ft.費玉清)

作詞:方文山
作曲:周杰倫
合唱:費玉清

(周)屋簷如懸崖 風鈴如滄海 我等燕歸來
時間被安排 演一場意外 妳悄然走開
故事在城外 濃霧散不開 看不清對白
妳聽不出來 風聲不存在 是我在感慨
夢醒來 是誰在窗台 把結局打開
那薄如蟬翼的未來 禁不起誰來拆

(費)我送你離開 千里之外 你無聲黑白
沉默年代 或許不該 太遙遠的相愛
我送妳離開 天涯之外 妳是否還在
琴聲何來 生死難猜 用一生 去等待

(周)聞淚聲入林 尋梨花白 只得一行青苔
天在山之外 雨落花台 我兩鬢斑白
聞淚聲入林 尋梨花白 只得一行青苔
天在山之外 雨落花台 我等妳來

(費)一身琉璃白 透明著塵埃 妳無瑕的愛
妳從雨中來 詩化了悲哀 我淋濕現在

(周)芙蓉水面採 船行影猶在 妳卻不回來
被歲月覆蓋 妳說的花開 過去成空白

(費)夢醒來 是誰在窗台 把結局打開
(周)那薄如蟬翼的未來
(周)禁不起誰來拆
(費)我送你離開 千里之外 你無聲黑白 沉默年代 或許不該 太遙遠的相愛
(周)我送妳離開 天涯之外 妳是否還在 琴聲何來 生死難猜 用一生
(費)我送妳離開 千里之外 妳無聲黑白 沉默年代 或許不該 太遙遠的相愛
(周)我送妳離開 天涯之外
(周)妳是否還在
(周)琴聲何來
(費)生死難猜
(合)用一生去等待

Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary