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出外 (chū wài) — to leave one's hometown or usual place to go elsewhere (for work, study, etc.)

Definition

A verb meaning to leave one's usual place (hometown, country) to work, study, or travel elsewhere. More literary than colloquial 出去; often stresses going away from where one normally lives, not just stepping out.

verb
to leave one's hometown or usual place to go elsewhere (for work, study, etc.)

Examples

  • 出外。
    Tā jué dìng chū wài dǎ gōng.
    He decided to go out to work.
  • ，。
    Tā qù nián chū le yí cì wài, dào xiàn zài hái méi huí lái.
    He went out once last year and still hasn't come back.
  • 出外。
    chū wài Lǚ xíng kě yǐ ràng nǐ kàn dào bù tóng de wén huà.
    Traveling abroad can let you see different cultures.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

出chūgo out
外wàioutside

出 conveys going out and 外 conveys outside, so 出外 describes leaving one's usual place for elsewhere.

Characters in this word

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

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

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
Travel & Tourism

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