Stroke order

Stroke order

外 (Kangxi radical 36,夕+2, 5 strokes,cangjie input弓戈卜 (NIY),four-corner2320₀,composition⿰夕卜(GHTVHK))

• 𠰻, 𢫑, 𣳢, 𫟌, 迯, 𡎢, 䀤, 夞, 𡎥, 𡎦, 㔰

• Kangxi Dictionary:page 246, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 5750
• Dae Jaweon: page 487, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 860, character 1
• Unihan data for U+5916

Historical forms of the character外
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled inHan)	Liushutong (compiled inMing)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声,OC*ŋʷaːds): semantic 卜 + phonetic 月(OC*ŋod).

According to学研漢和大字典(Kenkyūsha Kanwa Dai Jiten), it is also an ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意);月 originally represents a crescent moon (i.e. the moon with part “missing” to the observer). The character is thus interpreted as representing divination based on the partial phase of the moon, implying the remaining visible part of the moon is the moon's‘outside’.(Canthis⁽⁺⁾ etymology besourced?)

In oracle bone script,外 was written identical to卜, but they were distinguished by the fact that卜 has a horizontal bar extending to the inside of the tortoise shell, while外 has a horizontal bar extending to the outside.(Canthis⁽⁺⁾ etymology besourced?)

外

1. out;outside;external

   Antonyms:裡 /里(lǐ),內 /内

   窗外  ― chuāngwài  ―  outside a window

   外表  ― wàibiǎo  ―  outward appearance

2. beyond;above;in addition to;other than;except

   此外  ― cǐwài  ―  in addition (to this)

   十公里外  ― shí gōnglǐwài  ―  10 km beyond (a place)

   • 解名盡處是孫山，賢郎更在孫山外。[Classical Chinese,trad.]
     解名尽处是孙山，贤郎更在孙山外。[Classical Chinese,simp.]

     From:Song dynasty, poet Fan Gongcheng (范公偁),《過庭錄》

     Jièmíng jìnchù shì Sūnshān, xiánláng gèngzài Sūnshānwài.[Pinyin]

     I found my name the last of the enrolled;
     The good master went a stepbeyond me.

3. other;foreign;alien(not of one'sown family, clan, locality, school, country, etc.)

   外國／外国  ― wàiguó  ― foreign country

   外校  ― wài xiào  ― other schools

4. foreigncountry

   中外  ― zhōngwài  ―  China and foreign countries; in and outside of China

   對外貿易／对外贸易  ― duìwài màoyì  ―  foreign trade

   漢外詞典／汉外词典  ― hàn-wài cídiǎn  ―  Chinese dictionary in a foreign language

   • 外平不書，此何以書？[Classical Chinese,trad.]
     外平不书，此何以书？[Classical Chinese,simp.]

     From:Commentary of Gongyang,c. 206BCE– 9CE

     Wài píng bù shū, cǐ héyǐ shū?[Pinyin]

     Peace betweenforeign states were not recorded in the Annals. Why was this one exceptionally recorded?

5. (literary) toalienate; toother; toexclude; todistance

   見外／见外  ― jiànwài  ―  to make me feel like an outsider (literally, “to have meexcluded[from the familiar circle]”)

   • 內其國而外諸夏，內諸夏而外夷狄。[Classical Chinese,trad.]
     内其国而外诸夏，内诸夏而外夷狄。[Classical Chinese,simp.]

     From:Commentary of Gongyang,c. 206BCE– 9CE

     Nèi qí guó érwài Zhūxià, nèi Zhūxià érwài Yídí.[Pinyin]

     to deem one's own state "the in" andtreat the other Xiasas "the other", while allying oneself with the Xias anddistancing oneself from the Barbarians.

6. relatives of one's mother, sister or daughter

   外婆  ― wàipó  ―  maternal grandmother

   外孫／外孙  ― wàisūn  ―  daughter's son

   外祖父  ― wàizǔfù  ―  maternal grandfather

7. additional

   外加  ― wàijiā  ―  plus

   外帶／外带  ― wàidài  ―  to include (something) as well

8. unofficial

   外史  ― wàishǐ  ―  unofficial history

   外號／外号  ― wàihào  ―  nickname

9. (Hokkien, Teochew, after an amount but before the classifier) as much as

   二十外歲／二十外岁[Hokkien]  ― jī-cha̍pgōa hòe[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  20-something years old

Others:

• → Vietnamese:ngoài(“outside”)
• → Old Turkic:term
  • → Turkmen:öweý

• “外”, in漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1],香港中文大學 (theChinese University of Hong Kong),2014–

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

1. outside
2. foreign
3. other
4. except

• Go-on:げ(ge,Jōyō)^{←げ(ge,historical)←ぐゑ(gwe,ancient)}
• Kan-on:がい(gai,Jōyō)^{←ぐわい(gwai,historical)}
• Tō-on:うい(ui)
• Kun:そと(soto,外,Jōyō)、ほか(hoka,外,Jōyō)、はずす(hazusu,外す,Jōyō)^{←はづす(fadusu,外す,historical)}、はずれる(hazureru,外れる,Jōyō)^{←はづれる(fadureru,外れる,historical)}、と(to)

Appears from roughly theMuromachi period,^[1]superseding earlierto reading (see below). Likely a compound of either背(so,“back, behind”,ancient reading found in compounds) +‎外(to,“outside”), or背(so,“back, behind”,ancient reading found in compounds) +‎所(to,“place”).^[2]

• (Tokyo)そと[sóꜜtò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1][3]
• IPA^(key): [so̞to̞]

外(そと)• (soto) 

1. (the)outside

   箱(はこ)の外(そと)

   hako nosoto

   outside of the box

   外(そと)は雨(あめ)

   soto wa ame

   it is rainingoutside

• IPA^(key): [to̞]

外(と)• (to) 

1. (the)outside
2. toilet

FromMiddle Chinese外 (MC ngwajH).

• (Tokyo)がい[gáꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɡa̠i]