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校外 (xiào wài) — (place word) off-campus, outside the school (in location); (place word) after school, outside the school setting (in time or context)

Definition

Means 'off-campus' or 'outside the school setting' — used as a location noun (life 校外, housing 校外) and loosely for 'after school' in time/context, as in going off-campus for activities. Pairs directly with 校内 ('on-campus') as its opposite.

noun
(place word) off-campusoutside the school (in location)(place word) after schooloutside the school setting (in time or context)

Examples

  • 。
    Hěn duō dà xué shēng zhù zài xiào wài.
    Many college students live off-campus.
  • 校外。
    xiào wài De shēng huó hé xiào nèi hěn bù yí yàng.
    Life outside of school is very different from life on campus.
  • 校外。
    Tā měi tiān fàng xué hòu qù xiào wài cān jiā xìng qù bān.
    He goes to after-school interest classes off-campus every day.

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.

校xiàoschool
外wàioutside

校 points to school, and 外 means outside, so 校外 refers to places or times outside the school setting.

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
交
交jiāo校jiào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

校 is built from 木 (tree) on the left and 交 on the right, which supplies the sound.

Open 校 →

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
School & Education

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