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内外 (nèi wài) — inside and outside (literal); domestic and foreign; internal and external; approximately; about (used with numbers)

Definition

Reads as a fixed pair, not separate words: 'inside and outside' (literal) or 'domestic and foreign' (抽象, like 内外形势). For 'approximately' with numbers, 左右 and 大约 are more common.

noun
inside and outside (literal)domestic and foreigninternal and externalapproximatelyabout (used with numbers)

Examples

  • 内外。
    Fáng zi nèi wài dōu yào dǎ sǎo gān jìng.
    Both inside and outside the house need to be cleaned.
  • 内外。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī nèi wài dōu hěn yǒu míng qì.
    This company is well-known both domestically and internationally.
  • 内外。
    Tā kàn qǐ lái sān shí suì nèi wài.
    He looks about thirty years old.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

内nèiinside
外wàioutside

内 and 外 stand side by side for inside and outside.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 入入rùto enter
  • 冂冂jiōnghouse

The shape shows 入 entering into 冂, a house, so it pictures bringing something indoors, giving the sense inside.

Open 内 →

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.

Open 外 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Abstract Concepts

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