外事 (wài shì) — foreign affairs | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

foreign affairs

外事。
Tā fù zé gōng sī de wài shì yè wù.
He is in charge of the company's foreign affairs business.
外事。
wài shì Bù mén zhèng zài ān pái zhè cì fǎng wèn.
The foreign affairs department is arranging this visit.
外事。
Zhè cì huì yì zhǔ yào tǎo lùn wài shì wèn tí.
This meeting mainly discusses foreign affairs issues.

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.

外wàioutside/foreign

外 points to outside or foreign, and 事 names affairs, giving foreign-related matters.

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.

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.

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.