外貌

• 拼音: wài mào
• 汉字拆解: 外 = 夕 + 卜; 貌 = 豸 (a creeping beast, radical) + 皃 (face/appearance, phonetic-semantic) — an ancient depiction of facial expression and appearance

含义

Outward appearance; physical looks; features. The visible aspect of a person's face and body as perceived by others.

More formal and literary than 外表 (which covers both people and objects). 外貌 focuses specifically on a person's physical features — facial characteristics, build, and grooming. Common in written descriptions, character profiles, and sociological discussions of beauty standards (外貌歧视 = lookism). The idiom 以貌取人 (judge people by looks alone) is a closely related expression.

例句

1. 求职时以外貌作为主要评判标准，是一种不公平的歧视行为。
2. 她外貌并不出众，但谈吐优雅，举止得体，给人留下了深刻的印象。
3. 研究表明，人们对他人外貌的第一印象往往在短短几秒内便已形成。

用法指南

语境: social, professional, academic, literary

语气: descriptive

正确说法

• 他外貌普通，但凭借过硬的专业能力赢得了同事们的认可。(He has an unremarkable appearance, but earned his colleagues' respect through sheer professional competence.)
• 外貌歧视在职场中仍是一个不容忽视的现实问题。(Lookism remains a real and not-to-be-ignored problem in the workplace.)

错误说法

• 用外貌描述物体的外观 (外貌 applies almost exclusively to people; use 外形 or 外观 when describing the shape or appearance of objects)

起源与历史

Compound of 外 (outside, external) + 貌 (appearance, features, look). 貌 is an ancient character depicting facial features, making 外貌 a doubly reinforced term for outward physical appearance.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal