Meaning of 其余
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- the rest
- the others
- remaining
- remainder
- apart from them
How to use 其余
其余 refers to the remaining part of a group that was already mentioned, often after you single out some members first. It can stand alone or come before a noun, often with 的. Example: 我只认识他，其余的人都不认识。(Wǒ zhǐ rènshi tā, qíyú de rén dōu bú rènshi.) I only know him. I don't know any of the others.
其 (qí) means "that" or "those," and 余 (yú) means "left over," as in 业余 (yèyú), the time left over after work. Put them together and 其余 is "those that are left over," so it means the rest.
Common mistake: Learners often use 其余 and 其他 (qítā) the same way, but 其余 means the remaining part of one specific group, while 其他 can simply mean "other" in general. For example, 还有其他问题吗 (Do you have any other questions) sounds natural, but 其余 does not fit there. Also remember that 余 is second tone (yú), not fourth.
其余 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.
其 qí · his · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
余 yú · literary I · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 其余.
| 其他 | qítā | other; (sth or sb) else |
| 其中 | qízhōng | among; in |
| 其实 | qíshí | actually; in fact; really |
| 其次 | qícì | next; secondly |
| 极其 | jíqí | extremely |
| 业余 | yèyú | in one's spare time; outside working hours |
| 尤其 | yóuqí | especially; particularly |
| 多余 | duōyú | superfluous; unnecessary |
| 及其 | jí qí | (conjunction linking two nouns) and its ...; and their ...; and his ...; and her ... |
| 莫名其妙 | mòmíngqímiào | (idiom) baffling; bizarre; without rhyme or reason; inexplicable |
| 与其 | yǔqí | rather than... (used in expressions of the form 與其|与其[yu3 qi2] + {verb1} + 不如[bu4 ru2] + { |
| 余地 | yúdì | margin; leeway |
Questions about 其余
What does 其余 mean?
其余 (qíyú) means "the rest; the others" and is used as a pronoun.
How do you write 其余?
其余 is made of 2 characters: 其 (8 strokes), 余 (7 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 其余 an HSK word?
Yes. 其余 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 其余 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 其余 is written 其餘.
Do I need 都 after 其余?
Very often, yes. 其余 usually describes everyone or everything that remains, so sentences like 其余的都很好 (qíyú de dōu hěn hǎo, the rest are all fine) commonly add 都 (dōu).
Can 其余 be used by itself without a noun?
Yes. It can act like a pronoun meaning "the rest," as in 其余由我来做 (qíyú yóu wǒ lái zuò, I will do the rest). Spoken Chinese often adds 的 and says 其余的.