外衣 (wài yī) — outer garment, coat, jacket; (figurative) semblance, appearance, cloak

Definition

Examples

• 他穿了一件外衣就出门了。
  Tā chuān le yí jiàn wài yī jiù chū mén le.
  He put on an outer garment and went out.
• 他们打着民主的外衣，实际上是为了自己的利益。
  Tā men dǎ zhe mín zhǔ de wài yī, shí jì shang shì wèi le zì jǐ de lì yì.
  They put on the cloak of democracy, but in reality it's for their own benefit.
• 这个计划只是改革的外衣，没有实质内容。
  Zhè ge jì huà zhǐ shì gǎi gé de wài yī, méi yǒu shí zhì nèi róng.
  This plan is just the appearance of reform; it has no real substance.