外
Outside
| on’yomi | kun’yomi | Radicals |
|---|---|---|
| がい | そと | 夕 + ト |
Meaning: Outside
You’re known to get the ailment evening toe, which is when your toe catches on fire after getting really, really hot (imagine this happening, ouch!). The only way to fix it is to cool your toe down, and the best way to do that is to go outside.
After imagining your evening toe overheating, rush outside to fix it. It’s the best way to prevent fire toe, which is way worse. In the evening it’s nice and cold outside too, so feel this on your skin, and feel the cold air on your toe, which is starting to get some relief.
Reading: がい
You go outside (you’re not supposed to be out there at night!) and you’re accosted by a couple of guys. Then, all of a sudden, Guy Fawkes jumps from the roof above you and takes them out, then starts running. “Guy Fawkes!” you yell after him!
If you don’t know Guy Fawkes, you should do a little reading up on him to make this mnemonic make sense. Also, Anonymous People wear a Guy Fawkes mask, if that helps any.
Vocabulary
Learn the vocab before moving on – there’s a couple tricky ones, though, so just do your best!
a 外（そと）＝ Outside
- Meaning: This is the same as the kanji.
- Reading: This is the kun’yomi reading. I’d recommend doing your best with it now and using the study cards to practice.
a 外人（がいじん）＝ Outsider, Foreigner (Casual/Impolite)
- Combo: 外 (outside) + 人 (person)
- Meaning: An “outside person.” You’ll see a more formal / polite version of this word later, but this is a term used for foreigners. It’s not always derogatory, and I’d say actually pretty common, but if you want to be safe you’ll use 外国人 (がいこくじん), which you’ll learn when you learn 国 (since it’s the only kanji in there you haven’t learned yet).
- Reading: Know the on’yomi readings and you’ll do alright.
a 外れ（はずれ）＝ The End, Outskirts
- Meaning: This is like when you go to the outside of a thing – the end of something, the outskirts.
- Reading: This is (at least for us) an exceptional reading. Just pretend that when you get to the end, you freak out and go crazy, then start laughing. Ha ha ha ha 外れ!
a 外れる（はずれる）＝ To Be Disconnected
- Meaning: When something reaches the end or the outskirts, it is no longer connecting with anything. That’s why this means “To Be Disconnected.”
- Reading: If you can remember the reading for 外れ, you can remember the reading for this based off that.