Definition
外衣 literally means 'outer garment' (coat, jacket, overcoat), but it also has a common figurative sense meaning 'semblance, appearance, or cloak' — something that covers the true nature of a thing, like in 民主的外衣 ('the cloak of democracy'). The figurative use is frequent in formal or political writing.
n.
outer garmentcoatjacket(figurative) semblanceappearancecloak
Examples
- 外衣。Tā chuān le yí jiàn wài yī jiù chūmén le.He put on an outer garment and went out.
- 外衣，。Tāmen dǎ zhe mínzhǔ de wài yī, shíjì shàng shì wèile zìjǐ de lìyì.They put on the cloak of democracy, but in reality it's for their own benefit.
- 外衣，。Zhège jìhuà zhǐ shì gǎigé de wài yī, méiyǒu shízhì nèiróng.This plan is just the appearance of reform; it has no real substance.
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