排外 (pái wài) — (adjective) xenophobic, parochial, anti-foreign; (verb-object) to be xenophobic, to exclude outsiders

Definition

Literally 'push out + foreign,' 排外 describes hostility or rejection toward outsiders — both as an adjective (xenophobic sentiment) and a verb-object phrase meaning 'to exclude outsiders.' Often collocates with 情绪, 思想, or 心态.

adjective
xenophobicparochialanti-foreign(verb-object) to be xenophobicto exclude outsiders

Examples

  • 排外。
    Zhè zhǒng pái wài qíng xù zài shè huì shàng hěn cháng jiàn.
    This kind of xenophobic sentiment is very common in society.
  • ，。
    Tā cóng lái méi yǒu pái guò wài, duì gè guó wén huà dōu hěn gǎn xìng qù.
    He has never been xenophobic; he's very interested in the cultures of various countries.
  • 排外。
    Yí gè kāi fàng de shè huì yīng gāi bì miǎn pái wài sī xiǎng.
    An open society should avoid parochial thinking.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

排páiexclude
外wàioutsiders

排 means exclude and 外 means outsiders, so together they mean exclude outsiders.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi排pái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

排 uses 扌 (hand) to show arranging something with the hand, and 非 for the sound; this gives the sense of placing things in a line.

Open 排 →

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 →

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