Ba a samun "exocentric" a yawancin ƙamus na gaba ɗaya. Koyaya, a cikin ilimin harshe, "exocentric construction" yana nufin nau'in jumla ko fili inda ma'anar gabaɗaya ba a iya tsinkaya daga ma'anar sassanta. Misali, kalmar “ja” tana nufin mutum mai jajayen gashi, amma ma’anar kalmar ba wai kawai hadewar ma’anonin “ja” da “kai ba ne”. A wannan ma’ana, ginin da aka gina a waje ya bambanta da “tsarin gini na endocentric,” inda za a iya fahimtar ma’anar gaba ɗaya daga ma’anar sassansa (misali “gidan kare” yana nufin gidan kare).