1.
outside the group; outside one's department or organization
A formal noun used in administrative and corporate contexts to refer to people, things, or matters that are outside a particular department, division, or organization. The most common collocation is 部外者 ("outsider, nonmember"). Combines 部 ("section, department, group") with 外 ("outside").
部外者立ち入り禁止。
No unauthorized entry.
部外秘の資料なので、他には見せないでください。
This material is confidential to our department, so please don't show it to anyone else.
部外からの問い合わせは、広報部が対応します。
Inquiries from outside the department are handled by the public relations division.
今回の会議は部内限りで、部外の方にはご遠慮いただいております。
This meeting is internal-only, and we are asking those outside the department to refrain from attending.
部外 is a formal compound used in workplaces, government offices, and other organizations to designate people or information as belonging outside a specific department or in-group. It rarely stands alone; it almost always appears as part of a longer compound — most prominently 部外者 ("outsider") and 部外秘 ("confidential, restricted to department members").
FORMATION:
- 部 ("department, division, group") + 外 ("outside") → 部外
- The pair word is 部内 ("inside the department")
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 部外者: outsider, nonmember
- 部外秘: confidential to a department, internal-use only
- 部外者立ち入り禁止: "no unauthorized entry" (standard signage)
- 部外者に漏らす: to leak information to an outsider
- 部外からの問い合わせ: inquiries from outside the organization
SIMILAR / RELATED TERMS:
- 部内: inside the department, internal
- 社外: outside the company
- 社内: inside the company (internal)
- 外部: external, outside (more general; can refer to any external entity)
- 内部: internal, inside (the general counterpart of 外部)
- 関係者以外: "non-related parties" (more colloquial signage equivalent)
USAGE NOTES:
- 部外 is fairly formal and appears most often in administrative or corporate writing, including signs, memos, and policy documents. In casual speech, 外の人 or 関係者以外 are more natural.
- 部外秘 is one step less restrictive than 社外秘 ("company confidential") and 社内秘 ("internal company confidential"); the choice signals exactly which group can see the document.