外屋 (wài wū) — outer room

Definition

The outer room of a traditional Chinese home, as opposed to 里屋 (the inner/bedroom). It is the more public front room used for receiving guests or as a living area.

noun
outer room
Measure word · 间

Examples

  • 外屋，。
    wài wū De chuāng hu huài le, xū yào xiū yí xià.
    The window in the outer room is broken and needs to be fixed.
  • 外屋。
    Tā bǎ shā fā bān dào le wài wū.
    He moved the sofa to the outer room.
  • 外屋，。
    wài wū Bǐ lǐ wū lěng yì xiē, yīn wèi lí nuǎn qì yuǎn.
    The outer room is colder than the inner room because it's farther from the heater.

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wàiouter
屋wūroom

外 indicates outer, and 屋 is a room.

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
室室shìroom
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡉉
𡉉𡉉屋wū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屋 comes from 室, meaning room, with 𡉉 for sound; its upper part later changed into an unrelated shape.

Open 屋 →

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