见外
jiàn wài · HSK 7
to regard somebody as an outsider
🚪 见 = regard/see + 外 = outside, so to see someone as outside the group
见 carries the sense of regarding or treating, and 外 means outside or external. Put together, 见外 is treating a friend with the cold formality you would give an outsider — often said to wave off thanks: don't be so 见外.
见 — eye 目 over legs 儿 (人)
见 (traditional 見) is a pictograph of a person 儿 with a large eye 目 on top, emphasizing the act of seeing. The original meaning 'to see' broadened over time to include 'to meet,' 'to perceive,' and 'view/opinion.' The simplified form 见 keeps the same structure in cursive shorthand.
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'.