TraceHanzi

除非 meaning in English

chúfēi

only if (..., or otherwise, ...); only when

HSK 5conjunctionpreposition17 strokes

Meaning of 除非

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

chúfēi
  1. only if (..., or otherwise, ...)
  2. only when
  3. only in the case that
  4. unless

How to use 除非

除非 introduces the only condition under which something happens, and it is often paired with 才 (cái) or with 否则 (fǒuzé) or 不然 (bùrán) in the next clause. Example: 除非你去，我才去。(Chúfēi nǐ qù, wǒ cái qù.) I will go only if you go.

除 (chú) means to remove, as in 除了 (chúle) 'apart from', and 非 (fēi) means 'not'. Together 除非 sets up the one thing that must not be removed: 'unless' or 'only if'.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 除非 and 除了 (chúle) because both start with 除. 除了 means 'apart from' and adds or excludes items, while 除非 sets a condition like 'unless'.

除非 in example sentences

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

除chú非fēi有yǒu人rén跟gēn他tā说shuō话huà，他tā从cóng来lái不bù说shuō话huà。
He never speaks unless spoken to.
除chú非fēi我wǒ死sǐ了le！
Over my dead body.
除chú非fēi我wǒ问wèn你nǐ，请qǐng你nǐ不bú要yào说shuō话huà。
Don't speak till spoken to.
除chú非fēi是shì大dà活huó动dòng，否fǒu则zé我wǒ是shì从cóng不bù喝hē酒jiǔ的de。
I never drink unless there's a big event of some kind.
除chú非fēi他tā亲qīn口kǒu对duì我wǒ说shuō，否fǒu则zé我wǒ决jué不bù相xiāng信xìn。
I will not believe it unless and until he tells me so.

Stroke order for each character

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

除 chú · to get rid of · 9 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9

非 fēi · to not be · 8 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8

Related words

Words that share a character with 除非.

非常fēichángvery; really; unusual; extraordinary
除了chúleapart from; besides; in addition to (used to exclude, as in 除了他，誰也沒來|除了他，谁也没来[chu2 le5 ta1
解除jiěchúto remove; to sack
消除xiāochúto eliminate; to remove
排除páichúto eliminate; to remove
拆除chāichúto tear down; to demolish
除夕chúxīlunar New Year's Eve
并非bìngfēireally isn't
非法fēifǎillegal
开除kāichúto expel (a member of an organization); to fire (an employee)
清除qīngchúto clear away; to eliminate
非得fēiděi(followed by a verb phrase, then – optionally – 不可, or 不行 etc) must

Questions about 除非

What does 除非 mean?

除非 (chúfēi) means "only if (..., or otherwise, ...); only when" and is used as a conjunction and preposition.

How do you write 除非?

除非 is made of 2 characters: 除 (9 strokes), 非 (8 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.

Is 除非 an HSK word?

Yes. 除非 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How do I use 除非 with 否则 or 不然?

Put the required condition after 除非, then state what happens if it is not met after 否则 or 不然. For example, 除非下雨，否则我们去爬山。(Chúfēi xià yǔ, fǒuzé wǒmen qù pá shān.) Unless it rains, we will go hiking.

Do I need a negative word after 除非 to mean 'unless'?

No. 除非 already carries the meaning 'unless', so 除非你来 means 'unless you come'. Adding 不 would reverse the condition and usually confuses the sentence.

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