📖 Meaning
A person who falls outside one's considerations or calculations. It refers to someone who has no relationship or only a distant connection with a particular person or group, essentially an outsider. The term comes from the idea of placing someone beyond one's normal expectations of loyalty or affiliation.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the 'Records of the Three Kingdoms' (三国志), in the biography of Yang Fu (杨阜) from the Wei section. Yang Fu praised Cao Cao's extraordinary talent and strategic vision, noting that Cao Cao could employ people beyond his usual circle of trust—those with no prior connection to him—and that each appointee would exert their utmost effort. Yang Fu concluded that such a leader would surely accomplish great things. The expression thus originally described Cao Cao's ability to use talented outsiders.
💡 Example Usage
此事与你无关，你不过是个度外之人，何必多管闲事。
This matter has nothing to do with you; you're merely an outsider, so why meddle in others' affairs?
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 度外之人
- Pinyin: dù wài zhī rén
- Literal Translation: outside, consideration, of, person
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4