Chinese symbol for “layman”
外行
wài háng
layman; amateur
The closest CC-CEDICT match for layman is 外行 (wài háng), defined as: layman; amateur.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “layman”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 门外汉 (門外漢) | mén wài hàn | layman |
| 俗家 | sú jiā | layman; layperson |
| 素人 | sù rén | untrained, inexperienced person; layman; amateur; ordinary person; non-celebrity |
| 老外 | lǎo wài | (coll.) foreigner (esp. non Asian person); layman |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 外行.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 另外 | lìng wài | additional; in addition |
| 此外 | cǐ wài | besides; in addition; moreover; furthermore |
| 外国 (外國) | wài guó | foreign country |
| 国外 (國外) | guó wài | abroad; external (affairs) |
| 海外 | hǎi wài | overseas; abroad |
| 之外 | zhī wài | outside; excluding |
| 进行 (進行) | jìn xíng | (of a process etc) to proceed; to be in progress; to be underway; (of people) to carry out; to conduct (an investigation or discussion etc) |
| 举行 (舉行) | jǔ xíng | to hold (a meeting, ceremony etc) |
See also: Japanese symbol for “layman”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.