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中外 (zhōng wài) — Sino-foreign; Chinese and foreign; home and abroad

Definition

中外 means 'China and foreign countries together' — used as a modifier in fixed phrases like 中外合作 or 中外交流. It is NOT a location word; 海外 means 'overseas / abroad' as a place.

noun
Sino-foreignChinese and foreignhome and abroad

Examples

  • 中外。
    zhōng wài Wén huà jiāo liú fēi cháng zhòng yào.
    Sino-foreign cultural exchange is very important.
  • 中外。
    zhōng wài Hé zuò xiàng mù yuè lái yuè duō.
    There are more and more Sino-foreign cooperation projects.
  • 中外。
    zhōng wài Yǒu hǎo guān xì bú duàn fā zhǎn.
    Sino-foreign friendly relations are constantly developing.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

中zhōngChina
外wàioutside

中 and 外 stand side by side for China and the outside world.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

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Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5International & Diplomacy

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