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外部 (wài bù) — the outside, exterior (can also be used attributively to mean 'external')

Definition

External noun used mainly for organizations, systems, or environments — more formal and structural than 外面 ('outside' as a place) and more abstract than 外表 (outward look).

noun
the outsideexterior (can also be used attributively to mean 'external')

Examples

  • 外部。
    Zhè dòng lóu de wài bù xū yào chóng xīn zhuāng xiū.
    The exterior of this building needs renovation.
  • 外部。
    Lái zì wài bù de bāng zhù ràng tā men hěn gǎn dòng.
    The help from the outside deeply moved them.
  • 外部。
    wài bù Huán jìng duì wǒ men gōng sī de fā zhǎn hěn zhòng yào.
    The external environment is very important for our company's development.

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
部bùpart

外 means outside and 部 means part, so 外部 refers to the exterior part.

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
邑邑yì
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu部bù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

部 pairs 咅, which gives the sound, with 邑. It originally named a place in today's Gansu.

Open 部 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Abstract Concepts

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