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外国 (wài guó) — foreign country

Definition

A foreign country — used as a noun for places outside your own country. Compared to 海外 (HSK 5), 外国 is the everyday HSK 2 word; 海外 sounds more formal or journalistic. Use 个 as its measure word.

noun
foreign country
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 外国。
    Wǒ yǒu yí gè wài guó péng you.
    I have a foreign friend.
  • 外国。
    Tā cóng wài guó lái.
    He comes from a foreign country.
  • 外国。
    Zhè ge wài guó hěn dà.
    This foreign country is very big.

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
国guócountry

外 means outside and 国 means country, so 外国 refers to a country outside one's own.

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéiclosure
Sound part声符shēngfú
或
或huò國guó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

Open 国 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 2International & Diplomacy

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