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

Using 除了 (chúle)…… 以外 (yǐwài) will help you spruce up your sentences when you want to express "except", "besides", and "in addition." You may feel that "except" has a pretty different meaning form the other two. Well, read on!

Expressing "except"

Structure

"除了... (以外), 都..." (chúle... (yǐwài), dōu...) is a pattern used to express "except." Make special note of the 都!

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。Except for mother, the whole family went to Hong Kong.
• 除了 白酒 以外，他 什么 酒 都 喝。He will drink anything except white wine.
• 除了 小 王 以外，我们 都 会 说 英语。Except for Xiao Wang, we can all speak English.

An important note is that either 除了 or 以外 (usually it's 以外) can be omitted from the sentence without losing its meaning. Make special note of the 也 or 还!

Expressing "in addition"

Structure

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

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

Examples

• 除了 海南岛以外 ，我 还 想 去 台湾 旅行。In addition to Hainan Island, I also want to travel to Taiwan.
• 中国的功夫明星除了 成龙以外，李连杰也很有名。In addition to Jackie Chen, Jet Li is also very famous as a kung fu star.
• 除了 牛肉 以外 ，她 也 很喜欢 吃 鸡肉。In addition to beef, she also likes to chicken.

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
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 271)→buy