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开外 (kāi wài) — (suffix) over, more than (used after numbers, colloquial)

Definition

A colloquial suffix meaning 'over, more than,' placed after a number or quantity (五十开外, 一公里开外). It implies a rough estimate rather than a precise figure.

suffix
overmore than (used after numbers, colloquial)

Examples

  • 开外。
    Tā jīn nián wǔ shí kāi wài le.
    He is over fifty this year.
  • 开外。
    Xué xiào lí zhè r yì gōng lǐ kāi wài.
    The school is over a kilometer from here.
  • 开外。
    Zhè ge xiāng zi zhòng èr shí gōng jīn kāi wài.
    This box weighs over twenty kilograms.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

开kāibeyond
外wàioutside

It joins 开 and 外, both suggesting outside or beyond, to mean more than a number.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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
Quantity & Amount

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