KANJI: GAI GE hoka (outside, outer, other, undo)

ASCII Art Representation:

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Character Etymology:

This character is the combination of the radical for crescent moon and a figurative representation of a crack. The crack represents a crack in a turtle shell used for divination, and is in fact a character that is no longer in general use meaning divination..

The crecent moon is used to phonetically express something being split open and it also lends its rounded shape to suggest a turtle shell. Since the cracks ususally formed on the outside (convex) surface of the shell, this character came to mean outside/outer. Other and undo are associated meanings.

A Listing of All On-Yomi and Kun-Yomi Readings:

on-yomi: GAI GE
kun-yomi: soto hoka hazu(su) hazu(reru) to-

Nanori Readings:

Nanori: ui ke fuka

English Definitions:

1. DE, GAI: outside, without, beside, beyond the scope of.
2. hazu(su): take off, remove, unfasten, undo, detach, disconnect, put out of gear; miss, fail; avoid, evade, dodge.
3. hazu(reru): be off, come off, be or get out of place, dislocated, be off the hook (a phone), unzipped.
4. hazu(re): end, verge, extremity, tip; outskirts; miss, failure.
5. soto: outside, exterior, open air.
6. hoka: some other place; outside; the rest.
7. hoka no: other, another, different.
8. no hoka ni: with the exception of.
9. hoka, nanaru: none other than, nothing but.

Character Index Numbers:

New Nelson: 1125
Henshall: 91

Unicode Encoded Version:

外

Unicode Encoded Compound Examples:

外人 (gaijin): foreigner, alien.
外字 (gaiji): a character not in the JIS Kanji; foreign letters, foreign language.
外国為替 (gaikoku kawase): foreign exchange.

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