對外

简 对外 · 繁 對外
Mandarin · pinyin duì wài

Meanings

  1. external
  2. foreign
  3. pertaining to external or foreign (affairs)
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Characters in this entry

對
duì · correct, right; facing, opposed
外
wài · out, outside, external; foreign
对
duì · correct, right; facing, opposed
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · dui4 wai4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

對外 · find source passages ↗ · 对外 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

deoi3 ngoi6

Cantonese word readings for 對外. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

  1. (attributive) foreign; external; with other countries

verb

  1. to resist foreign aggression
  2. to be open to outsiders

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack