外遇 (wài yù) — extramarital affair; cheating (on one's spouse) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

extramarital affaircheating (on one's spouse)

Examples

外遇。
Tā fā xiàn zhàng fu yǒu le wài yù.
She discovered that her husband was having an affair.
外遇。
Tā yīn wèi wài yù lí le hūn.
He got divorced because of an extramarital affair.
外遇。
Dà jiā dōu bú rèn tóng wài yù zhè zhǒng xíng wéi.
Everyone disapproves of this kind of cheating behavior.

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

遇yùencounter

An outside encounter: 外 marks outside marriage, 遇 the meeting.

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.

辶禺遇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

禺

禺yú遇yù

Same sound today

遇 combines 辶, a walking-related part, with 禺, which gives the sound. The 辶 part shows that the meaning involves walking or moving.

Appears in

Romance & Marriage 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.