港外

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 港外(こうがい) combines 港, harbor, and 外, outside, to name a location.
• Basic usage: It appears when a ship waits outside a harbor or moves out of it.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Waiting location and direction of movement
  • で in 港外で待機した marks where the waiting occurred. へ in 港外へ出る marks movement toward the area outside the harbor.
• The reference point versus 郊外
  • 郊外(こうがい) means the outskirts or suburbs of a city. Despite the identical pronunciation, 港外 is defined relative to a harbor and 郊外 to a city.