外

外 U+5916, 外 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5916 ← 夕 [U+5915] CJK Unified Ideographs 夗 → [U+5917]

Stroke order

Stroke order

外 (Kangxi radical 36, 夕+2, 5 strokes, cangjie input 弓戈卜 (NIY), four-corner 2320₀, 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

trad.		外
simp. #		外
alternative forms		𡖄

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’. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

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. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

外

1. out; outside; external

   Antonyms: 裡 / 里 (lǐ), 內 / 内

   窗外  ―  chuāng wài  ―  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 gōnglǐ wài  ―  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 Sūnshān wài. [Pinyin]

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

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

   外國／外国  ―  wàiguó  ―  foreign country

   外校  ―  wài xiào  ―  other schools

4. foreign country

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

   對外貿易／对外贸易  ―  duì wài 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？ [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     外平不书，此何以书？ [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

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

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

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

5. (literary) to alienate; to other; to exclude; to distance

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

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

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

     Nèi qí guó ér wài Zhūxià, nèi Zhūxià ér wài Yídí. [Pinyin]

     to deem one's own state "the in" and treat the other Xias as "the other", while allying oneself with the Xias and distancing 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-cha̍p gōa 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 (the Chinese 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)

Kanji in this term
外
そと Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Appears from roughly the Muromachi period,^[1] superseding earlier to 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 no soto

   outside of the box

   外(そと)は雨(あめ)

   soto wa ame

   it is raining outside

Kanji in this term
外
ほか Grade: 2
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 外 – see the following entry.

【他ほか】3 [noun] another, other, some other, the rest

(This term, 外, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Kanji in this term
外
よそ Grade: 2
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 外 – see the following entry.

【余所よそ】 [noun] another place [noun] a place outside one's family or group [noun] an unrelated person, place, or thing Alternative spelling 他所

(This term, 外, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Kanji in this term
外
と Grade: 2
kun'yomi

• IPA^(key): [to̞]

外(と) • (to) 

1. (the) outside
2. toilet

Kanji in this term
外
がい Grade: 2
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 外 (MC ngwajH).

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

外(がい) • (-gai) ^{←ぐわい (-gwai)?}

1. outside; external
2. except for

Kanji in this term
外
げ Grade: 2
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 外 (MC ngwajH).

• (Tokyo) げ [géꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɡe̞]

外(げ) • (ge) 

1. (Buddhism) non-Buddhist teachings or texts
2. (in compounds) external

• 外(げ)科(か) (geka): surgery (as a field of medicine)
• 外(げ)道(どう) (gedō): any non-Buddhist religion
• 外(げ)法(ほう) (gehō): any non-Buddhist religion; any non-Buddhist teaching

The printed form of this character often differs from its handwritten form; in the latter, the last stroke often does not pass through, as in the printed Chinese form.

From Middle Chinese 外 (MC ngwajH).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	ᅌᅬᆼ〮 (Yale: ngwóy)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527	밧 (Yale: pàs)	외〯 (Yale: wǒy)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [we̞(ː)] ~ [ø̞(ː)]
• Phonetic hangul: [웨(ː)/외(ː)]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Wikisource

外 (eumhun 바깥 외 (bakkat oe))

1. hanja form^? of 외 (“outside; surface”) [affix]

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

外: Hán Nôm readings: ngoại, ngoái, ngoải, ngoài, nguậy

1. chữ Hán form of ngoại (“outer”)
2. chữ Nôm form of ngoài (“outside”)

• Nôm: ngoái, ngoài, ngòi, ngồi
• Hán: ngoại

• ngoại quốc (外國)

• Thiều Chửu : Hán Việt Tự Điển Hà Nội 1942
• Trần Văn Chánh: Từ Điển Hán Việt NXB Trẻ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
• Vũ Văn Kính: Đại Tự Điển Chữ Nôm, NXB Văn Nghệ, Ho Chi Minh Ville