外来 wàilái external
external; foreign; outside
How to remember 外来: 外 outside + 来 come = external.
Characters
How it is used
- Coming from outside - foreign or external in origin: 外来人口 (wàilái rénkǒu) migrant/outside population, 外来词 (wàiláicí) loanword, 外来物种 (wàilái wùzhǒng) invasive species.
- Attributive only; marks something introduced from elsewhere rather than native/local (本地/本土).
- Neutral, common in demographics, linguistics, and ecology.
Example sentences
- 英语有很多法语外来词。 Yīngyǔ yǒu hěnduō fǎyǔ wàiláicí.English has many loan words from French.