HSK 3.0 Level 3 · Speaking

外语 wàiyǔ “foreign language” in Chinese

Traditional 外語

What 外语 means

  1. foreign language

Measure word 门 mén · 一门外语 yì mén wàiyǔ

How to say 外语

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale外wài4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale语yǔ3rd tone, dipping

外语 in a sentence

  1. 你们对外语感兴趣吗？

    Nǐmen duì wàiyǔ gǎn xìngqù ma?

    Are you interested in foreign languages?

    Sentence #332725 from Tatoeba

  2. 我正在学两门外语。

    Wǒ zhèngzài xué liǎng mén wàiyǔ.

    I’m learning two foreign languages.

    Sentence #10449483 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 他外语学得很快。

    Tā wàiyǔ xué de hěn kuài.

    He learns foreign languages quickly.

    Sentence #3694742 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 外语 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 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.

The character 语 (yǔ) with each of its parts in a different colour
语yǔdialect
  • 讠speech form of 言 · yánMeaning part
  • 吾I · wúSound part

讠 hints at the meaning (speech); 吾 (wú) hints at the sound. Compare it with yǔ.

Memory aidWords 讠 that I 吾 say: language. 吾 (wú) also gives the sound.

How to write 外语

外 5 strokes · 语 9 strokes

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

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

Words related to 外语

Words with 外

外边wàibian · outside外wài · outside外国wàiguó · foreign (country)外面wàimiàn · outside外卖wàimài · takeaway (food)外地wàidì · another part of the country以外yǐwài · apart from另外lìngwài · additional外公wàigōng · grandpa (mother’s father)意外yìwài · unexpected

Words with 语

汉语Hànyǔ · Mandarin (Han language)词语cíyǔ · words and expressions语法yǔfǎ · grammar语言yǔyán · language成语chéngyǔ · idiom语气yǔqì · tone母语mǔyǔ · mother tongue谜语míyǔ · riddle

More words: Speaking & Communication

怎么办zěnmebàn · what should I do?聊liáo · to chat邮件yóujiàn · mail邮箱yóuxiāng · email inbox聊天儿liáotiānr · to chat加油jiāyóu · to cheer on提出tíchū · to put forward晚安wǎn'ān · good night

FAQs

外语 (wàiyǔ) means “foreign language”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word.
Say it wàiyǔ: wài with a 4th tone, then yǔ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 外语 is written 外語. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 门 (mén). For example, one foreign language is 一门外语 (yì mén wàiyǔ).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type waiyu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 外语 from the suggestions. Typing waiyu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
外语 is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 5 word list. It is not on the older 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 from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.