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见外 (jiàn wài) — to treat someone as an outsider; to be overly formal (especially among friends or close acquaintances)

Definition

见外 means treating a close friend like a stranger — 'don't be so formal.' Unlike 客气 (general politeness), it implies distance that feels inappropriate between people who know each other well.

adjective
to treat someone as an outsiderto be overly formal (especially among friends or close acquaintances)

Examples

  • ，见外。
    Dà jiā dōu shì hǎo péng you, nǐ jiù bié jiàn wài le.
    We're all good friends, so don't be so formal.
  • 见外，。
    Nǐ zhè yàng shuō jiù jiàn wài le, wǒ men dōu rèn shi zhè me duō nián le.
    Saying that makes you sound like a stranger; we've known each other for so many years.
  • 见外？？
    Nǐ jīn tiān zěn me zhè me jiàn wài? shì bu shì yǒu shén me bù kāi xīn de shì?
    Why are you being so formal today? Is there something that's upsetting you?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

见jiàntreat
外wàioutsider

“见” (treat) and “外” (outsider) combine to mean treating someone as outside.

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 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Friends & Social

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