ngoài

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 外 (“external, foreign”, SV: ngoại). Doublet of ngoại.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ŋwaːj˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ŋwaːj˦˩]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ŋwaːj˨˩]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

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ngoài

1. outside (of an interior or enclosed space)

   ngoài nhà/phòng ― outside the house/room

   ngoài vòng tròn ― outside the circle

2. out (through an opening)

   ngoài cửa (sổ) ― out the door/window

3. in/at (an outdoor or external location)

   ngoài sân ― outside in the yard

   ngoài bãi biển ― at the beach

   bệnh ngoài da ― external (medical) conditions, as opposed to internal conditions (literally, “illnesses on the outside, on the skin”)

4. in (a place in northern Vietnam)

   ngoài bắc ― someplace in northern Vietnam; "the north"

   ngoài Hà Nội ― in Hanoi, which is to the north of where we are

5. outside (of); except (for); other than

   Ngoài tôi ra thì không ai biết làm cả.

   I'm the only one who can do it.

   (literally, “Other than me, nobody knows how to do it.”)

ngoài

1. outside; external

   bên ngoài ― the outside

   người ngoài ― an outsider

ngoài

1. out; outside

   ăn ngoài ― to eat out

The word can carry the meaning of "outside the space that the subject is/was in", so be aware of subtle nuances in meaning when using the word. For example,

• Họ đi ra ngoài quán rồi.

can mean either "They went to the restaurant." (if, for example, they were at home) or "They went outside the restaurant." (if, for example, they were inside the restaurant).

• trong