以外 meaning in English

yǐwài

apart from; other than

HSK 2noun9 strokes

Meaning of 以外

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

yǐwài

apart from
other than
except for
external
outside of
on the other side of
beyond

How to use 以外

以外 comes after a noun or phrase to mean "apart from" or "beyond." It often pairs with 除了 (chúle) at the front, and the sentence then adds 还 (hái) or 都 (dōu). Example: 除了他以外，我们都去了。(Chúle tā yǐwài, wǒmen dōu qù le.) Everyone except him went.

以 (yǐ) means "by" or "taking as a point" and 外 (wài) means "outside." Together, 以外 marks everything outside a certain point or group.

Common mistake: Learners often put 以外 before the noun, as English does with "except," but it must come after: say 他以外, not 以外他. Also, 以外 can mean "except" or "in addition," so check whether the sentence uses 都 (excluding) or 还 (including).

以外 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

晚wǎn饭fàn后hòu你nǐ不bù可kě以yǐ外wài出chū。

You must not go out after dinner.

但dàn你nǐ知zhī道dào，我wǒ除chú了le这zhè些xiē以yǐ外wài一yī无wú所suǒ有yǒu！

But you know, I have nothing aside from this.

你nǐ去qù过guò西xī班bān牙yá以yǐ外wài的de地dì方fāng吗ma？

Have you been anywhere besides Spain?

除chú了le相xiāng信xìn对duì方fāng以yǐ外wài，你nǐ们men没méi什shén么me要yào做zuò的de了le。

All you need to do is trust each other.

除chú我wǒ以yǐ外wài，所suǒ有yǒu人rén都dōu醉zuì了le。

Everyone was drunk, except for me.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

以 yǐ · to use · 4 strokes

外 wài · outside · 5 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 以外.

外国	wàiguó	foreign country
国外	guó wài	abroad; external (affairs)
外边	wàibian	outside; outer surface
外语	wàiyǔ	foreign language
可以	kěyǐ	can; may
所以	suǒyǐ	therefore; as a result
以为	yǐwéi	to think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless refe
以前	yǐqián	before; formerly
以后	yǐhòu	after; later
以上	yǐshàng	that level or higher; that amount or more; the above-mentioned
以下	yǐxià	that level or lower; that amount or less
外卖	wàimài	(of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal; takeout (business)

Questions about 以外

What does 以外 mean?

以外 (yǐwài) means "apart from; other than" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 以外?

以外 is made of 2 characters: 以 (4 strokes), 外 (5 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.

Is 以外 an HSK word?

Yes. 以外 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 以外 and 外边?

外边 (wàibian) is a physical place, the outside of something, like 门外边 (outside the door). 以外 sets a limit or exception, like 三天以外 (beyond three days) or 他以外 (apart from him).

Can I drop 除了 and just use 以外?

Yes. 以外 alone works, as in 这个以外，还有别的吗？(Zhège yǐwài, hái yǒu bié de ma?) Is there anything apart from this? Adding 除了 is common in speech and makes the meaning clearer.