What's the difference between 壁 and 塀?


Both of them mean "wall", then what's the difference?




壁｛かべ｝ is a regular wall. 塀｛へい｝ may be a wall but not necessarily. A 塀 enclose
a perimeter (like a house, a building, ...) and it define a frontier between
the interior and the exterior. A wall does not define an interior and an
exterior (just two sides: in front of the wall and behind the wall).
Therefore, sometimes 塀 is translated as a fence.

You can have a look at google images to get a more precise idea.




壁｛かべ｝ is a regular wall. 塀｛へい｝ may be a wall but not necessarily. A 塀 enclose
a perimeter (like a house, a building, ...) and it define a frontier between
the interior and the exterior. A wall does not define an interior and an
exterior (just two sides: in front of the wall and behind the wall).
Therefore, sometimes 塀 is translated as a fence.

You can have a look at google images to get a more precise idea.

