HSK 5 · Function Words

格外 géwài “especially” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 格外 means

  1. especially
  2. particularly
  3. even more than usual
  4. extra
  5. additional

How to say 格外

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale格gé2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale外wài4th tone, falling

格外 in a sentence

  1. 今天的月亮格外圆。

    Jīntiān de yuèliang géwài yuán.

    The moon is especially round tonight.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 下过雨以后,空气格外新鲜。

    Xià guo yǔ yǐhòu, kōngqì géwài xīnxiān.

    After the rain, the air is especially fresh.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 格外 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.

The character 格 (gé) with each of its parts in a different colour
格gésquare; lattice; grid; frame
  • 木tree · mùMeaning part
  • 各individual · gèSound part

木 hints at the meaning (tree); 各 (gè) hints at the sound. Compare it with gé.

The character 外 (wài) with each of its parts in a different colour
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.

How to write 格外

格 10 strokes · 外 5 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

格外 (géwài) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 格外 (géwài). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 格外

Words with 格

Words with 外

More words: Function Words & Grammar

FAQs

格外 (géwài) means “especially” or “particularly”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it géwài: gé with a 2nd tone, then wài with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 格外 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type gewai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 格外 from the suggestions. Typing gewai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
格外 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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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 written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.