Meaning of 之外
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- outside
- excluding
How to use 之外
之外 comes after a noun or phrase to mean "outside of" or "apart from." It often pairs with 除了 (chúle) to mean "besides" or "except." Example: 除了中文之外，他还会说日语。(Chúle Zhōngwén zhīwài, tā hái huì shuō Rìyǔ.) Besides Chinese, he can also speak Japanese.
之 (zhī) is a classical linking word like "of," and 外 (wài) means "outside." Put them together and you get "the outside of" something, so whatever comes before 之外 is the boundary you step beyond.
Common mistake: Learners often put 之外 before the noun, as in English "outside the city." In Chinese it must follow it: 城市之外 (chéngshì zhīwài), not 之外城市. Also remember that 除了...之外 can mean "including" with 还/也 but "excluding" with 都, so check the second half of the sentence.
之外 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
之 zhī · possessive particle · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
外 wài · outside · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 之外.
| 外国 | wàiguó | foreign country |
| 国外 | guó wài | abroad; external (affairs) |
| 外边 | wàibian | outside; outer surface |
| 外语 | wàiyǔ | foreign language |
| 以外 | yǐwài | apart from; other than |
| 外卖 | wàimài | (of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal; takeout (business) |
| 外地 | wàidì | parts of the country other than where one is |
| 外面 | wàimiàn | outside (also pr. [wai4 mian5] for this sense); surface |
| 另外 | lìngwài | additional; in addition |
| 意外 | yìwài | unexpected; accident |
| 外交 | wàijiāo | diplomacy; diplomatic |
| 外文 | wàiwén | foreign language (written) |
Questions about 之外
What does 之外 mean?
之外 (zhīwài) means "outside; excluding" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 之外?
之外 is made of 2 characters: 之 (3 strokes), 外 (5 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 之外 an HSK word?
Yes. 之外 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 之外 and 以外?
They mean nearly the same thing and are often interchangeable, as in 除了他以外 or 除了他之外. 之外 sounds a little more formal and written, while 以外 is slightly more common in everyday speech.
Can 之外 be used for time or abstract ideas, not just places?
Yes. It works for any limit, such as 意料之外 (yìliào zhīwài), "beyond expectations," or 工作之外 (gōngzuò zhīwài), "outside of work."