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额外 (é wài) — extra, additional

Definition

额外 means 'extra, additional' — something added on top of the normal amount. Used as an adjective (e.g. 额外的费用), unlike 另外, which is also an adverb ('in addition') and conjunction ('moreover').

adjective
extraadditional

Examples

  • 额外。
    Zhè cì chū chāi yǒu é wài de fèi yòng.
    This business trip has extra expenses.
  • 额外。
    Gōng sī gěi le wǒ é wài de gōng zuò.
    The company gave me extra work.
  • 额外。
    Tā ná dào le é wài de shōu rù.
    He got extra income.

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.

额équota
外wàioutside

The 外, or outside, of the 额, or quota, gives the sense of extra or additional.

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 額; 额 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
客
客kè額é
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 額 combines 頁 (head), which points to the meaning, with 客, which gives the sound. The simplified 额 is a later abbreviation.

Open 额 →

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 →
Appears in
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