外头

• 拼音: wài tou
• 汉字拆解: 外 = 夕 (evening) + 卜 (divination); 头 = simplified from 頭, depicting a head

含义

Outside; outdoors. A colloquial term for the area outside.

Informal variant of 外面 or 外边. Common in spoken Chinese, especially in northern dialects. Used to refer to the area outside a building, room, or enclosed space. Can also mean 'elsewhere' or 'out in the world' more abstractly.

例句

1. 外头下雨了，你出门记得带伞。
2. 孩子们都在外头玩呢，屋里就剩我一个人。
3. 他在外头工作，很少回家。

用法指南

语境: everyday, colloquial, family

语气: casual

正确说法

• 外头冷，多穿点。(It's cold outside, wear more clothes.)
• 快进来，别在外头站着。(Come in quickly, don't stand outside.)

错误说法

• 请您到外头等候 — 正式场合用'外面'，外头太口语化

起源与历史

Compound of 外 (outside) + 头 (head, suffix indicating location/direction). The suffix 头 is common in colloquial location words like 里头 (inside), 前头 (in front).

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal