ngoại

See also: ngoái, ngoài, and ngoải

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 外 (“outside”). Doublet of ngoài. Compare Chinese 外 (wài, “outside; maternal”), Korean 외(外) (oe, “outside; maternal”). A woman once married is considered belonging to a different family, hence the "inside" father's side and "outside" mother's side. See also xuất giá (“to get married”, literally “to "get out" and get married”).

Pronunciation

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

Preposition

ngoại

(rare) synonym of ngoài (“except for”)

Adjective

ngoại

(usually in compounds) foreign
hàng ngoại
foreign goods; imported goods; goods bought abroad
related to the mother's side of the family
bên ngoại ― (people on) one's mother's side of the family

bà ngoại ― a maternal grandmother

quê ngoại ― mother's birthplace

Noun

ngoại

(usually in compounds) everything foreign
sính ngoại ― to love everything foreign, such as foreign goods or foreign language words, especially in an ignorant or tacky way
(Southern Vietnam, used as a kinship "pronoun") maternal grandparent
Ngoại ơi! Con đến rồi nè! ― Grandpa/Grandma! I'm here!

Ngoại ơi! Con chích rồi nhé! ― Grandpa/Grandma! I got my (Covid-19) vaccine!

Derived terms

Antonyms

nội