外衣 (wài yī) — outer garment, coat, jacket; (figurative) sembl…

Definition

Literally 'outer garment', 外衣 is used figuratively to mean a false 'cloak' or cover hiding the true nature of something.

noun

outer garmentcoatjacket(figurative) semblanceappearancecloak

Measure word · 件

外衣。
Tā chuān le yí jiàn wài yī jiù chū mén le.
He put on an outer garment and went out.
外衣，。
Tā men dǎ zhe mín zhǔ de wài yī, shí jì shang shì wèi le zì jǐ de lì yì.
They put on the cloak of democracy, but in reality it's for their own benefit.
外衣，。
Zhè ge jì huà zhǐ shì gǎi gé de wài yī, méi yǒu shí zhì nèi róng.
This plan is just the appearance of reform; it has no real substance.

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.

衣yīclothing

外 outer specifies the kind of 衣 clothing, giving an outer garment.

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

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.

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

The shape of 衣 comes from an outline of the chest and upper clothing.

Appears in