ngoại

See also: ngoài

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 外 (“outside”). Doublet of ngoài. Compare Chinese 外 (wài, “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˨˩˨]

Preposition

ngoại

1. (rare) Synonym of ngoài (“except for”)

Adjective

ngoại

1. (usually in compounds) foreign

   hàng ngoại

   foreign goods; imported goods; goods bought abroad

2. 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

1. (usually in coumpounds) everything foreign

   sính ngoại

   to love everything foreign, such as foreign goods or foreign language words, especially in an ignorant or tacky way

2. (Southern Vietnam, used as a kinship "pronoun") maternal grandparent

   Ngoại ơi! Con đến rồi nè!

   Grandpa/Grandma! I'm here!

Derived terms

• ngoại tình
• ngoại cảm
• ngoại giao
• bà ngoại
• ngoại kiều
• ngoại ô
• ông ngoại

See also

• nội