外
そと · soto · JLPT N5 · noun
outside
🚪 Sounds like so-toe: so, toes out the door = outside
Soto splits into so + toe. Say it as a tiny sentence: so, toes go out the door. The kanji 外 also reads gai in compounds like 外国 (gaikoku, foreign country = outside + country), so soto is the standalone word for outside.
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'.
ほか · hoka · JLPT N5 · noun
other
外 = evening 夕 + divination 卜: outside the norm, hence the other, the rest
Etymology: divination was done by day, so a reading at evening (夕) fell outside the usual. From outside came the sense of whatever lies beyond the one named: the other, the rest. Sound hook: hoka = the OTHER hawk-a, not this one.
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'.