1.
foreign-made; made overseas; of foreign manufacture
Indicates that a product was manufactured outside of Japan. Used on labels, catalogs, and in conversation to contrast with 国産 ('domestic / Japanese-made'). Often functions as a noun modifier ('foreign-made car', 'imported watch'), and can also take の to attach to another noun.
これは外国製の時計です。
This is a foreign-made watch.
外国製の車は部品が手に入りにくいこともある。
Parts for foreign-made cars can sometimes be hard to get.
外国製の家電は、日本の電圧に対応していない場合があるので注意が必要だ。
Foreign-made home appliances sometimes do not support Japanese voltage, so caution is needed.
Compound of 外国 ('foreign country') and the suffix 〜製 ('made in; manufactured by'), which combines productively with country names and other nouns to form origin-of-manufacture labels: 日本製 ('made in Japan'), 中国製 ('made in China'), 手製 ('handmade'), 木製 ('wooden').
USAGE:
- Most commonly attaches directly to a noun without の: 外国製家電, 外国製車.
- The の form — 外国製の時計 — is also fully standard and slightly more explicit.
- Can stand alone as a predicate: この{靴は外国製だ}.
- Not a positive or negative word in itself, but in advertising contexts it is often associated with premium or specialty goods, while 国産 carries a 'trusted local' image.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 外国製の車: foreign-made car
- 外国製家電: imported home appliances
- 外国製の部品: foreign-made parts
- 外国製の時計: foreign-made watch
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 国産: domestically produced; Japan-made — the direct antonym.
- 舶来: imported from overseas — older, slightly literary word with a nostalgic, high-class nuance.
- 輸入品: imported goods — focuses on the customs / trade side rather than on place of manufacture.
- 海外製: made overseas — near-synonym of 外国製, with 海外 sounding a touch softer than 外国.