中外
zhōngwài · HSK 6
China and foreign countries
🇨🇳🌍 中 (middle/China) + 外 (outside/foreign) = domestic and abroad
中 is short for 中国 (China, the Middle Kingdom) and 外 means outside or foreign. Together they form a neat pair covering both sides: everything Chinese and everything non-Chinese.
中 — vertical stroke 丨 through enclosure 口
Pictograph of a banner or pole piercing the center of a target or territory, depicting the idea of 'middle' or 'center'. The horizontal frame represents boundaries, and the vertical line marks the central axis. The meaning extended from spatial center to 'middle, central, China' (中国, the Middle Kingdom).
外 — evening 夕 + divination 卜
Originally a compound of 夕 (evening) and 卜 (divination). Ancient Chinese divinations were performed in the morning; doing them at evening (夕) was considered irregular or 'outside' the norm. From this sense of deviation, 外 came to mean 'outside' or 'external'.