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外向 (wài xiàng) — extroverted (personality), outgoing; export-oriented (economics)

Definition

外向 describes a personality type — sociable and energized by others, the opposite of 内向. 开朗 is more about cheerful mood; 外向 is about how you relate socially.

adjective
extroverted (personality)outgoingexport-oriented (economics)

Examples

  • 外向，。
    Tā xìng gé wài xiàng, xǐ huan cān jiā gè zhǒng shè jiāo huó dòng.
    She has an outgoing personality and likes to take part in all kinds of social events.
  • 外向，。
    Zhè jiā qǐ yè shì wài xiàng xíng de, chǎn pǐn zhǔ yào chū kǒu dào ōu zhōu.
    This enterprise is export-oriented; its products are mainly exported to Europe.
  • ，，。
    Suī rán tā bú ài shuō huà, dàn qí shí shì nèi wài xiàng, hé bié rén shú xi hòu huì biàn de hěn jiàn tán.
    Although he doesn't like to talk much, he's actually an introvert, but becomes very talkative once he gets to know people.

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wàioutside
向xiàngdirection

外 means outside and 向 means direction, so 外向 suggests facing outward or oriented to foreign markets.

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 →

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

向 originally drew 宀 (house) with 口 to show an echo in a place; later it was used for direction.

Open 向 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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