【外】(gai, ge, soto, hoka/ outside) Japanese Kanji / JLPT N5

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In this time, I will introduce the Kanji character 外.

How to read

① Onyomi (Chinese reading)

The on-readings are
・がい　gai
・げ　ge

For example,

・外見　がいけん　gai-ken
It means appearance
It is often used against people.
東アジアの人は外見が似ている　ひがしあじあのひとはがいけんがにている
East Asians are similar in appearance.

・外国　がいこく　gai-koku
It means foreign country
・外国人　がいこくじん　gai-koku jin
It means foreign people

・圏外　けんがい　ken-gai
It means outside range
圏外のため、スマホでインターネットができません　けんがいのため、すまほでいんたーねっとができません
I cannot get internet on my phone due to outside range

and so on.

② Kunyomi (Japanese reading)

Next, the kun-reading is
・そと　soto
・ほか　hoka
・はず-す　はず-す

For example,
・外す　はずす　hazu-su
It means remove, unlock
カギを外す　かぎをはずす
Remove the key.
Unlock the lock.

and so on.

③ Special reading

No special reading

Meanings

Next is the meaning of the kanji for 外.
This kanji is used in the next meanings
・outside
・remove
・unlock

Radical

And the radical of this character is 夕　Yūbe
This character itself is a radical, a basic character.

Family name

Next, I will introduce family names. Here are some family names that are particularly common in Japan.
・外山　とやま　Toyama
・外村　とむら　Tomura

Personal name

There are no specific well-known personal names using the Kanji for 外

Famous person

Next, I will introduce Japanese celebrities who use the Kanji 外
・森 鷗外　もりおうがい　Mori Ougai
He was a writer.

・外山 滋比古　とやましげひこ　Toyama Shigehiko
He was a linguist.

Look-alikes

Here are some kanji that are similar to 外
・舛　せん　sen
But this kanji is not commonly used

↓Other kanji characters can be found in the list here↓

Tags

Tap or click to see a list of related Kanji pages.