海外
hǎiwài · HSK 6
overseas
🌊✈️ 海外 = sea + outside — beyond the sea means abroad
China's classical world view placed everything foreign beyond the ocean. 海 (sea) + 外 (outside) literally means 'outside the sea,' i.e. overseas lands.
海 — water radical 氵 + 每 (phonetic)
海 is a phono-semantic compound. The 氵 (water) radical signals the meaning—a vast body of water—while 每 supplies the sound. Originally referring to the sea or ocean, it later extended figuratively to mean 'vast' or 'a great quantity,' as in 人海 (a sea of people).
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'.