外 (wài) means "outside" with 5 strokes, radical 夕 (evening), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: outside
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
The oracle-bone form combines 夕 (evening moon) with 卜 (divination crack). Ancient diviners read oracle cracks at dawn, so a crack read in the evening (夕) was considered irregular or outside the normal procedure. This 'outside the proper time' sense gave the character its meaning of outer or external.
Form evolution
Oracle-bone and bronze forms show 夕 and 卜 as clearly separate elements. Seal script regularised the two components side by side in roughly equal proportion. Clerical script flattened 夕 into its modern stacked shape on the left, and modern 楷 standardised the balanced left-right layout seen today.
How the meaning evolved
From the original sense of an irregular or out-of-place divination, the meaning broadened to outside, outer, and foreign by the classical period. By Han times it already covered external relations, outer surface, and non-family members. Modern Mandarin uses it for outside, foreign (外国), and extra or additional (另外).
Cultural note
外 preserves its classical weight in 外人 (outsider) and 外公 (maternal grandfather), where the maternal line was historically considered 'outside' the patrilineal family. Learners often miss that 外 on relative terms (外婆, 外甥) is a kinship marker, not a judgement.
Mnemonic
Evening divination is done outside — outer
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | wài |
| Meanings | outside |
| Stroke count | 5 strokes |
| Radical | 夕 (#36: evening) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #118 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 外
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 外 | wài | outside | HSK 1 |
| 另外 | lìngwài | in addition | HSK 4 |
| 此外 | cǐwài | in addition | HSK 4 |
| 外公 | wàigōng | grandpa (mother's side) | HSK 5 |
| 意外 | yìwài | Accident | HSK 5 |
| 格外 | géwài | especially | HSK 5 |
| 外交 | wàijiāo | International Relations | HSK 6 |
| 不外 | bùwài | nothing but, only | |
| 不外乎 | bùwàihū | nothing but, only | |
| 除外 | chúwài | to exclude, not including | HSK 7-9 |
| 额外 | éwài | extra, additional | HSK 7-9 |
Related characters
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.