外 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

外: outside; foreign; other; external. JLPT N5; 5 strokes.

Readings

On readings

ガイ、ゲ

Kun readings

そと、ほか、はず.す、はず.れる

Romaji

gai, ge, soto, hoka, hazusu, hazureru

Study notes

外 indicates what is outside: the outside, foreign land, what is different or excluded.

On readings: ガイ in 外国 (がいこく, foreign country), 外国人 (がいこくじん, foreigner), 海外 (かいがい, abroad), 以外 (いがい, except, outside of), 例外 (れいがい, exception), 外出 (がいしゅつ, exit). ゲ is rare: 外科 (げか, surgery), 外科医 (げかい, surgeon).

Kun readings: そと, "outside" (外で遊ぶ, to play outside; 外側=そとがわ, external side). ほか, "other": その外 (そのほか, the rest, others); in this sense it is more often written 他 or in hiragana. はずす (外す, to remove, to detach) is transitive; はずれる (外れる, to detach; to miss the target) is intransitive, as in 町外れ (まちはずれ, periphery).

Remember: 以外 (いがい, except) and 意外 (いがい, unexpected) are read the same way but have different meanings.

Example words

• 外出 (がいしゅつ) — going out; outing
• 外国語 (がいこくご) — foreign language
• 外科 (げか) — surgery; surgical department
• 外 (そと) — outside
• 外 (ほか) — other; outside of

Example sentences

外で遊びましょう。

soto de asobimashou.

Let's play outside.

Stroke order

Follow the steps in order. Each new stroke is highlighted.

Stroke paths: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sequential diagrams derived from the original paths.