课外 (kè wài) — extracurricular (activities); outside of class;…

Definition

noun

extracurricular (activities)outside of classafter school

课外。
Tā cān jiā le xǔ duō kè wài huó dòng.
He joined many extracurricular activities.
课外。
kè wài De shí jiān kě yǐ yòng lái zuò zuò yè.
Time outside of class can be used to do homework.
课外。
Wǒ de hái zi hěn xǐ huan cān jiā kè wài de xìng qù bān.
My child really likes joining extracurricular interest classes.

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.

课 gives class, and 外 gives the area outside it.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 課; 课 is its simplified writing.

言果課

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánto say

Sound part声符shēngfú

果

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 課 pairs 言 (to say) with 果 as a sound part; the simplified 课 is a shorthand and its right side is not a sound part.

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.

Appears in