外家

wàijiā
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 external school (of Chinese martial arts)
  2. 2 one's mother's family
  3. 3 a married woman's parents' home

Examples

HSK 3
Guònián de shíhou, tā dài zhe háizi huí wàijiā zhù le jǐ tiān.
At New Year she took the children back to her parents' home for a few days.
HSK 7-9
Shàolínquán shǔyú wàijiā, jiǎngjiu lìliang hé sùdù.
Shaolin boxing belongs to the external school, which stresses strength and speed.

Tips

usage
In martial arts 外家 is the external school, traced to Shaolin, as against 内家, the internal school of styles like 太极拳. For a married woman's family home standard Mandarin says 娘家; 外家 in that sense is older or regional, and still common in Cantonese.

Stroke Order

外 wài
家 jiā