野外

• Pinyin: yě wài
• Hanzi breakdown: 野 = 里 (village) + 予 (extend — uncultivated land beyond the village); 外 = 夕 (evening/dusk) + 卜 (divination — what is outside the settled and known; the exterior)

Meaning

The open country; outdoors; the wild. Refers to open natural areas outside of towns and buildings.

Used for any outdoor natural environment: open fields, forests, mountains, or remote areas. Common in contexts of outdoor activities (野外生存 — wilderness survival), field research (野外调查 — field survey), and military training (野外演练). Contrasts with 室内 (indoors) and 城市 (urban areas).

Examples

1. 特种部队在极端气候条件下的野外环境中接受连续两周的生存训练，考验体能与心理双重极限。 Special forces underwent two straight weeks of survival training in harsh outdoor conditions, pushing both their physical and psychological limits.
2. 野外的夜晚没有城市光污染的干扰，抬头就能看见璀璨的银河，令初次露营的她久久无法入睡。 With no city light pollution in the wild, you can look up and see the brilliant Milky Way, and as a first-time camper she lay awake for a long time.
3. 地质队员背着沉重的仪器设备，在偏远山区的野外连续作业了三个月，终于完成了这片地区的资源勘探任务。 Carrying heavy instruments, the geological survey team worked continuously in the backcountry of a remote mountain region for three months, finally completing the resource exploration task for the area.

Usage Guide

Context: nature, military, science, outdoor

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这支师生组成的科考队在野外连续工作四十多天，克服高海拔缺氧和补给困难，采集到大量样本。(This expedition team of teachers and students worked in the wild for more than forty days, overcoming high-altitude oxygen shortage and supply difficulties, and collected a large number of samples.)
• 野外生存课程强调让学员在脱离现代设施的环境中，学会辨别方向、找水、搭庇护所和急救。(The wilderness survival course emphasizes teaching students, in an environment without modern facilities, how to find directions, locate water, build shelter, and give first aid.)

Don't Say

• 在野外餐厅用餐 — 野外 means the open natural countryside; an outdoor restaurant patio is not 野外; say 在户外餐厅用餐 or 在露天座位用餐; 野外 implies a genuinely wild, unbuilt environment

Origin & History

野 (open field/wild — land beyond the village) + 外 (outside — 夕 evening/dusk + 卜 divination; what lies outside the known/settled area)

Cultural Context

Era: Classical/Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal