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外交 (wài jiāo) — diplomacy; foreign affairs

Definition

Refers to a country's official dealings with other nations — diplomatic relations, foreign policy, and the work of embassies. Pairs naturally with verbs like 发展, 开展, 断绝 ('to develop / conduct / sever').

noun
diplomacyforeign affairs
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 。
    Tā duì wài jiāo hěn gǎn xìng qù.
    He is very interested in diplomacy.
  • 外交。
    Zhōng guó jiān chí dú lì zì zhǔ de wài jiāo.
    China adheres to an independent foreign policy.
  • 外交。
    Liǎng guó zhī jiān de wài jiāo fēi cháng zhòng yào.
    Diplomacy between the two countries is very important.

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wàiforeign
交jiāodealings

外 means foreign and 交 means dealings, so 外交 refers to dealings with foreign countries.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5International & Diplomacy

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