Sentence #3068506 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
How 外公 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
外wàioutside
夕evening · xī
卜divination · bǔ
Memory aidEvening 夕 beside a divination crack 卜. Picture fortune-telling done at night, out of doors: outside.
公gōngpublic
八eight · bā
厶private · sī
Memory aidAn old explanation: share out 八 what is private 厶, and it becomes public.
How to write 外公
外 5 strokes · 公 4 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 外公 (wàigōng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
外公 (wàigōng) means “grandpa (mother’s father)” or “(coll.) mother’s father”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it wàigōng: wài with a 4th tone, then gōng with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 外公 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type waigong with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 外公 from the suggestions. Typing waigong into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
外公 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
Turn words into conversations
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
外wài4th tone, falling
公gōng1st tone, high and level
