foreigner

Compared meaning: a person from another country (noun).

比较义项：来自另一个国家的人（名词）。

• alien

  A formal, often legal or bureaucratic term for a person from another country, typical of immigration law and official documents (e.g. 'resident alien'); can sound cold or impersonal in everyday speech.

  指来自另一个国家的人的正式说法，常用于移民法律或官方文件中（如“resident alien 常住外侨”），日常口语中使用会显得生硬、公事化。

  Non-citizens are officially classified as resident aliens for tax purposes.

  非公民在纳税方面被官方归类为常住外侨。

• foreigner 本词

  The plain, everyday word for a person from another country, used in ordinary conversation with no legal or official tone.

  指来自另一个国家的人的普通日常用词，用于一般口语交流，没有法律或官方色彩。

  As a foreigner, she needed a visa to work here.

  作为一名外国人，她需要签证才能在这里工作。

Alien and foreigner both mean a person from another country. Alien is formal, common in legal or official language, such as immigration documents. Foreigner is the plain, everyday word used in ordinary conversation. Not compared: alien meaning a being from outer space.

这两个词在“外国人”这个意思上很接近，但alien是正式、常见于法律或官方语境的说法，语气偏冷淡、公事化；foreigner是日常口语中最自然、中性的说法。这里不比较alien的“外星人”义项。

Compared meaning: a person who does not belong (noun).

比较义项：不属于本地或某个群体的人（名词）。

• outsider

  "Outsider" highlights exclusion from a specific group, clique, or community based on social relationships, not geography; it can describe even a longtime local who isn't accepted by an inner circle.

  outsider强调因社交关系而被排除在某个特定群体、小圈子或社区之外，与地域无关；即便是长期身处本地的人，只要不被核心圈子接纳，也可以被称为outsider。

  Even after ten years in the company, he was still treated as an outsider by the founding team.

  即使在公司工作了十年，他仍然被创始团队当作outsider对待。

• foreigner 本词

  "Foreigner" specifically denotes someone from a different country or region, based on geographic or national origin, regardless of whether that person is socially accepted.

  foreigner特指来自不同国家或地区的人，依据的是地理或国籍上的出身，而不涉及这个人是否被社会接纳。

  The hotel gives foreigners a discount that local residents don't get.

  这家酒店给foreigner打折，而本地居民没有这项优惠。

Outsider and foreigner both can mean someone who does not belong, but in different ways. Outsider is about social exclusion from a group or community, regardless of nationality. Foreigner is about national or geographic origin, regardless of social acceptance.

outsider和foreigner都可以表示“不属于这里的人”，但强调点不同：outsider侧重社交关系上被排斥、未被某个圈子或群体接纳，与国籍、地域无关；foreigner侧重地理或国籍上的出身，即来自另一个地区或国家，不一定涉及被排斥。两者语域和搭配也不同，不能随意互换。