外地 (wài dì) — another place (in the same country); out-of-tow… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

外地 means 'out-of-town' or 'another part of the country' — a place that is not where you currently are. Unlike 外国 ('foreign country') or 海外 ('overseas'), it stays inside the same country.

noun

another place (in the same country)out-of-town location

Examples

外地。
Tā de péng you dōu shì cóng wài dì lái de.
His friends are all from out of town.
外地。
Wǒ men xué xiào yǒu hěn duō wài dì xué shēng.
Our school has many out-of-town students.
外地。
Tā men jì huà qù wài dì lǚ yóu.
They plan to travel out of town.

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

外 means outside and 地 means place, so 外地 refers to an outside place or out-of-town location.

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

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.

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

土也地

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

也

也yě地dì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 3

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