内 (nèi) · inside, inner, internal

Meanings

1 inside
2 inner
3 internal
4 within

Characters

内

nèi

inside; inner; within

Examples

HSK 3

请在三天内完成。

Qǐng zài sān tiān nèi wánchéng.

Please complete it within three days.

HSK 4

国内的情况怎么样？

Guónèi de qíngkuàng zěnmeyàng?

How is the situation domestically?

HSK 4

校内不能停车。

Xiàonèi bù néng tíngchē.

Parking is not allowed on campus.

Tips

usage

内 is the more formal/written equivalent of 里. Common compounds: 国内 (domestic), 室内 (indoor), 内部 (internal). The opposite is 外 (outside).

Components

radical

冂 jiōng

down-box; outer enclosure

Outer 冂 is the down-box radical, depicting the four walls of a structure seen from outside. It defines the boundary that 内 lives behind - the walls of the room, the outer skin. Same family as 同, 网, 周 - chars where 冂 frames an inner space.

semantic

人 rén

person; entering shape

Inner shape is a person crossing the threshold. Traditional 內 used 入 (entering) here, picturing a person stepping inside the walls. Modern 内 settled on a 人-shape readable either way - entering or already inside. Either reading lands the meaning: someone has crossed in.