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外地人 (wài dì rén) — non-local person; someone from another place

Definition

Refers to someone from another region — relative to a given place, the 'outsider' to that area's 本地人. Often carries a slight sense of being an outsider or migrant.

noun
non-local personsomeone from another place
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 外地人。
    Zhè ge chéng shì yǒu hěn duō wài dì rén lái dǎ gōng.
    There are many non-locals coming to work in this city.
  • 外地人，。
    Zuò wéi wài dì rén, tā gāng lái de shí hou hěn bù xí guàn.
    As an outsider, he wasn't used to it when he first arrived.
  • 外地人。
    Běn dì rén hé wài dì rén xiāng chǔ dé hěn róng qià.
    Locals and non-locals get along very well.

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.

外地other place
外wàioutside地dìplace
偏正Modifier + head
人rénperson

外 means outside, 地 means place, and 人 means person, so the sense is a person from another place.

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.

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.

Open 地 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
People (General)

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