HSK 3.0 Level 3 · Adverbs

以外 yǐwài “apart from” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 以外 means

  1. apart from
  2. besides
  3. outside (of)
  4. other than
  5. except for
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • external
  • on the other side of

How to say 以外

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale以yǐ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale外wài4th tone, falling

以外 in a sentence

  1. 除了我以外，大家都很忙。

    Chúle wǒ yǐwài, dàjiā dōu hěn máng.

    Everyone is busy except me.

    Sentence #684827 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 除了下雨天以外，他每天都会走路上班。

    Chúle xiàyǔ tiān yǐwài, tā měitiān dōu huì zǒulù shàngbān.

    He walks to work every day except when it rains.

    Sentence #616151 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 工作时间以外，可以打他的私人电话找到他。

    Gōngzuò shíjiān yǐwài, kěyǐ dǎ tā de sīrén diànhuà zhǎodào tā.

    Outside working hours, you can reach him on his private phone.

    Sentence #3493150 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 以外 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 以 (yǐ) drawn as one shape
以yǐto use

以 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

The character 外 (wài) with each of its parts in a different colour
外wàioutside
  • 夕evening · xī
  • 卜divination · bǔ

Memory aidEvening 夕 beside a divination crack 卜. Picture fortune-telling done at night, out of doors: outside.

How to write 以外

以 4 strokes · 外 5 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

以外 (yǐwài) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 以外 (yǐwài). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 以外

Words with 以

可以kěyǐ · can所以suǒyǐ · so以前yǐqián · before以后yǐhòu · after以下yǐxià · below以上yǐshàng · above以yǐ · with以为yǐwéi · to think (wrongly)以及yǐjí · and以来yǐlái · since (a previous event)

Words with 外

外边wàibian · outside外wài · outside外国wàiguó · foreign (country)外面wàimiàn · outside外卖wàimài · takeaway (food)外地wàidì · another part of the country外语wàiyǔ · foreign language另外lìngwài · additional外公wàigōng · grandpa (mother’s father)意外yìwài · unexpected

More words: Adverbs & Linking Words

常常chángcháng · often一块儿yíkuàir · together

FAQs

以外 (yǐwài) means “apart from” or “besides”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word.
Say it yǐwài: yǐ with a 3rd tone, then wài with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 以外 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yiwai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 以外 from the suggestions. Typing yiwai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
以外 is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 5 word list. It is not on the older HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.