以外 (yǐ wài) — how to say "except" in Chinese

以外

Except, beyond

noun

Character composition

以

with, by

外

outside

Radicals / Keys

夕

Evening

#36 · xī · 3 strokes

人

Man

#9 · rén · 2 strokes

Collocations

工作以外

gōng zuò yǐ wài

outside of work

Examples

除了学习以外,他每天还锻炼身体。

Besides studying, he also exercises every day.

除了他以外,我们都去。

Except him, we all go.

Mnemonic

Mnemonic for 以外 (yǐ wài) — except, beyond

[yǐ wài-] Yi-Wai the little badger, by means of (以) a ruler, checked: all the food is inside the basket, and outside (外) lies only a pebble. "以外 the pebble, everything is edible!" he announced. 🦡🧺

Writing

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say "except" in Chinese?

"except" in Chinese is 以外 (yǐ wài).

以外 meaning in English

以外 (yǐ wài) means "Except, beyond".

How is 以外 pronounced?

It is pronounced yǐ wài (written as yi wai, yiwai). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.

How do you write "except" in Chinese characters?

It is written 以外: 以 has 4 strokes, 外 has 5 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.

What HSK 3.0 level is 以外?

以外 is on the HSK 3.0 level 3 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.

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Grammar with 以外

More HSK 3.0 level 3 words