Expressing "except" and "in addition" with "chule… yiwai"

Using 除了……以外 will help you spruce up your sentences when you want to express "except", "besides", and "in addition".

Structure 1

"除了... (以外), 都/也/还..." (chúle... (yǐwài), dōu/yě/hái...) is a pattern used to express "except", "besides", and "in addition".

除了 + Noun Phrase + (以外) + Noun Phrase + 都 + Verb

Examples

• 除了 妈妈 以外，我们 全家 都 去 香港。
• 除了 白酒 以外，他 什么 酒 都 喝。
• 除了 小 王 以外，我们 都 会 说 英语。

The pattern can also be used to mean "in addition". An important note is that either 除了 or 以外 can be omitted from the sentence without losing its meaning.

Structure 2

In this pattern, the structure differs only slightly, substituting 都 with 也:

除了 + Noun Phrase + (以外) + Noun Phrase + 也 + Verb

Examples

• 除了 日本 以外 ，我 还 想 去 台湾 旅行。
• 除了 中国人，很 多 美国人 也 喜欢 赌博。
• 除了 汉堡包 以外 ，她 也 喜欢 吃 热狗。

See also

• "Unless" with "chufei"
• "In Addition" as "lingwai"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 80) →buy
• Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 50, 52) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 218-9)　→buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 16-7) →buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 355-6) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 170) →buy