外 (wài): outside, in addition, foreign
外 (wài) is a Chinese character meaning “outside.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 夕 (structural) and 卜 (structural). It ranks #131 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 外 night-time 夕 divinations 卜; the supernatural, the foreign. Its radical form 夕 (evening) appears in many related characters such as 多 (duō, many), 夜 (yè, night), 够 (gòu, enough (sufficient)).
Definitions
- outside
- in addition
- foreign
Etymology & Origin
ideographicNight-time 夕 divinations 卜; the supernatural, the foreign
Decomposition: ⿰夕卜 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 外 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 外
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 外面noun | wài miàn | outside (also pr. [wai4 mian5] for this sense) | 2 |
| 另外pronoun/adverb/conjunction | lìng wài | additional | 4 |
| 意外adjective/noun | yì wài | unexpected | 5 |
| 外套noun | wài tào | outer garment | 4 |
| 以外noun | yǐ wài | apart from | 3 |
| 外科noun | wài kē | surgery (branch of medicine) | 6 |
| 外表noun | wài biǎo | external | 6 |
| 外婆noun | wài pó | (coll.) mother's mother | 5 |
| 例外verb/noun | lì wài | exception | 6 |
| 外卖verb/noun | wài mài | (of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal | 3 |
| 外国 | wài guó | foreign country | 3 |
| 此外conjunction | cǐ wài | besides | 4 |
| 外出verb | wài chū | to go out | 4 |
| 外界noun | wài jiè | the outside world | 6 |
| 外交noun | wài jiāo | diplomacy | 6 |
| 外公noun | wài gōng | (coll.) mother's father | 5 |
| 海外noun | hǎi wài | overseas | 5 |
| 户外noun | hù wài | outdoor | 5 |
| 外部noun | wài bù | the outside | 5 |
| 外边noun | wài bian | outside | 1 |
| 野外noun | yě wài | countryside | 6 |
| 外甥noun | wài shēng | sister's son | 6 |
| 外来adjective | wài lái | external | 6 |
| 外形noun | wài xíng | figure | 5 |
| 格外adverb | gé wài | especially | 5 |
| 外地noun | wài dì | parts of the country other than where one is | 3 |
| 郊外noun | jiāo wài | outskirts | 6 |
| 外语noun | wài yǔ | foreign language | 3 |
| 外观noun | wài guān | outward appearance | 5 |
| 内外noun | nèi wài | inside and outside | 6 |
| 中外noun | zhōng wài | Sino-foreign | 5 |
| 海内外 | hǎi nèi wài | domestic and international | 6 |
外 appears in 100 compound words: 46 as the first character, 54 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 外 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (29)
to act from inside in coordination with attackers outside; attacked from both inside and out
internal and external troubles; internal upheaval and external invasions
to act from inside in coordination with attackers outside; attacked from both inside and out
Showing 12 of 29 idioms containing 外.
Example Sentences
外面下雨了，你记得带伞出门。
Wàimiàn xià yǔ le, nǐ jìde dài sǎn chūmén.
It's raining outside; remember to bring an umbrella when going out.
谁被虹口新春美到了?中外游客:超出片,太震撼!| ..
shéi bèi hóng kǒu xīn chūn měi dào le ? zhōng wài yóu kè chāo chū piān , tài zhèn hàn ! . .
Who is beautiful by Hongkou New Year? Chinese and foreign tourists: beyond the film, too shocking! | The New Year's Day
中外交流|塞尔维亚举行系列新春庙会活动庆祝中...
zhōng wài jiāo liú sāi ěr wéi yà jǔ háng xì liè xīn chūn miào huì huó dòng qìng zhù zhōng . . .
Sino-Foreign Exchange|Serbia held a series of Lunar New Year temple festivals to celebrate the Chinese...
肥城:外卖小哥的“暖心守护”升级了
féi chéng wài mài xiǎo gē de nuǎn xīn shǒu hù shēng jí le
Feicheng: takeaway brother's "warm heart guardian" upgraded
寒风中的暖流丨贵安新区市场监督管理局为外卖骑手送去..
hán fēng zhōng de nuǎn liú 丨 guì ān xīn ōu shì chǎng jiān dū guǎn lǐ jú wéi wài mài qí shǒu sòng qù . .
Warm Current in the Cold Wind丨Gui'an New District Market Supervision Administration sends takeaway riders...
新春走基层·驻外记者回乡手记丨在中国,感受火箭一飞..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng zhù wài jì zhě huí xiāng shǒu jì 丨 zài zhōng guó , gǎn shòu huǒ jiàn yī fēi . .
The new year is the first time that a foreign correspondent has returned to his hometown....
你们对外语感兴趣吗？
Nǐmen duì wàiyǔ gǎn xìngqù ma?
Are you interested in foreign languages?
这意外是何时发生的？
Zhè yìwài shì héshí fāshēng de?
When did the accident take place?
你去国外是玩儿还是出差？
Nǐ qùguówài shì wánr háishi chūchāi?
Did you go abroad for pleasure or on business?
你有没有去过外国？
Nǐ yǒuméiyǒu qù guo wàiguó?
Have you ever been to a foreign country?
Character Family
夕 Radical Family — Characters sharing the evening radical
Homophones — Characters pronounced wài
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 外 (wài) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 外 and 里?
How many strokes does 外 have?
What is the radical of 外?
What are the components of 外?
What are common words containing 外?
What characters sound the same as 外 (wài)?
Is 外 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 外 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.