国外 (guó wài) — abroad; overseas; foreign countries

Definition

noun

abroadoverseasforeign countries

国外。
Tā dǎ suàn míng nián qù guó wài liú xué.
He plans to study abroad next year.
国外。
guó wài De xīn wén wǒ měi tiān dōu huì kàn.
I read the news from abroad every day.
国外。
Zhè jiā gōng sī zài guó wài yǒu hěn duō fēn gōng sī.
This company has many branches overseas.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

国 means country and 外 means outside, so together they refer to places outside the country.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

囗或國

Meaning part形符xíngfú

囗囗wéiclosure

Sound part声符shēngfú

或

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

月

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.

Appears in