圏外

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 圏外 (けんがい) is a noun for being outside a defined range, including a communication area or an area of contention.
• Basic usage: It describes a phone going out of range on a mountain path or a work falling outside prize contention.
  • 山道に入ると携帯電話が圏外になった。 — The phone went out of range when we entered the mountain path.
  • その作品は上位候補には届かず、受賞圏外だった。 — The work did not reach the leading group and was outside prize contention.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Signal range and figurative range
  • A phone that 圏外になる has no service, while 受賞圏外 means being outside the range of plausible prize contenders.