TongTong
Sign in

外圈 (wài juān) — outer lane

Definition

noun
outer lane

Examples

  • 外圈。
    Tā pǎo bù shí xǐ huan pǎo zài wài juān.
    He likes to run in the outer lane when jogging.
  • 外圈。
    Zhè tiáo gōng lù de wài juān shì màn chē dào.
    The outer lane of this highway is the slow lane.
  • ，外圈。
    Sài chǎng shàng, yùn dòng yuán dōu xuǎn zé cóng wài juān qǐ pǎo.
    On the track, the athletes all choose to start from the outer lane.

Origin

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
圈quānring/lane

外 “outside” + 圈 “ring/lane” gives the outer ring or lane.

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
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 →

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
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
卷
卷juàn圈quān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

圈 is made of the outer 囗, an enclosure shape, and the inner 卷, which gives the sound.

Open 圈 →
Appears in
Sports & Athletics

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.