ngoài

See also: ngoái, ngoải, and ngoại

Vietnamese

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 外 (“external, foreign”, SV: ngoại). Doublet of ngoại.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ŋwaːj˨˩]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ŋwaːj˦˩]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [ŋwaːj˨˩]
Audio (Hà Nội): (file)

Preposition

ngoài

outside (of an interior or enclosed space)
ngoài nhà/phòng ― outside the house/room

ngoài vòng tròn ― outside the circle
out (through an opening)
ngoài cửa (sổ) ― out the door/window
in/at (an outdoor or external location)
ngoài sân ― outside in the yard

ngoài bãi biển ― at the beach

bệnh ngoài da ― external (medical) conditions, as opposed to internal conditions (literally, “illnesses on the outside, on the skin”)
in (a place in northern Vietnam)
ngoài bắc ― someplace in northern Vietnam; "the north"

ngoài Hà Nội ― in Hanoi, which is to the north of where we are
outside (of); except (for); other than
Ngoài tôi ra thì không ai biết làm cả.
I'm the only one who can do it.
(literally, “Other than me, nobody knows how to do it.”)

Adjective

ngoài

outside; external
bên ngoài ― the outside

người ngoài ― an outsider

Adverb

ngoài

out; outside
ăn ngoài ― to eat out

Usage notes

The word can carry the meaning of "outside the space that the subject is/was in", so be aware of subtle nuances in meaning when using the word. For example,

Họ đi ra ngoài quán rồi.

can mean either "They went to the restaurant." (if, for example, they were at home) or "They went outside the restaurant." (if, for example, they were inside the restaurant).

Derived terms

Antonyms

trong