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外來

简外来 · 繁外來

Mandarin · pinyin wài lái

external
foreign
outside

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Characters in this entry

外: wài · out, outside, external; foreign
來: lái · come, coming; return, returning
来: lái · come, coming; return, returning

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · wai4 lai2

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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.

外來 · find source passages ↗ · 外来 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ngoi6 loi4

Cantonese word readings for 外來. 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

(attributive) extraneous; being influenced by outside factors; extrinsic
(attributive) foreign; exotic
(attributive) external; outside

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

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