外来

• Reading: がいらい
• Romaji: gairai
• Kanji breakdown: 外 (gai) — outside, foreign; 来 (rai) — come, arrive
• Pronunciation: /ɡa.i.ɾa.i/

Meaning

Foreign; imported; from outside. Also refers to outpatient care at a hospital.

A noun used as a modifier meaning 'from outside' or 'foreign.' Most commonly appears in 外来語 (loanword, especially from Western languages), 外来種 (invasive/non-native species), and 外来患者 or 外来診療 (outpatient). In the medical sense, 外来 refers to hospital visits where the patient does not stay overnight, as opposed to 入院 (hospitalisation).

Examples

1. 日本語には英語からの外来語がたくさんある。 There are many loanwords from English in Japanese.
2. 外来種が在来の生態系を脅かしている。 Invasive species are threatening the native ecosystem.
3. 午前中に病院の外来を受診してきた。 I went to see a doctor at the outpatient clinic in the morning.

Usage Guide

Context: linguistics, medicine, ecology, education

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From Sino-Japanese 外 (gai, outside/foreign) + 来 (rai, to come). Literally 'coming from outside,' originally used for anything arriving from abroad, later extended to the medical meaning of visiting a hospital from outside.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal