以外(いがい)Except・besides, Other than, With the exception of

Structure

Verb + 以外(いがい)
Noun + 以外(いがい)

Details

About いがい

In order to mark something as 'except (A)', or 'besides (A)', 以外(いがい) will be used. This construction is a combination of the kanji 以(い) which means 'by means of', and 外(がい) 'outside'. This expression can most accurately be translated as 'with the exception of (A)', or 'everything outside of (A)'.

To use 以外(いがい), attach it to the thing that you want to highlight as being the 'all inclusive' amount/area.

Fun Fact

以外(いがい) is also regularly used simply as an expression of surprise, when someone sees, hears, or reads something that is 'outside' of what they expected. However, in these cases, the more correct kanji construction is 意外(いがい) 'out of mind'. This is a regular mistake that even native speakers make, so in many cases, either 意外(いがい) or 以外(いがい) would be understandable.

Examples

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メアリー以外(いがい)、誰(だれ)も来(こ)なかった。

No one except Mary came.

それ以外(いがい)、聞(き)いてないよ。

I haven't heard anything other than that.

納豆(なっとう)以外(いがい)何(なん)でも食(た)べられる。

I can eat anything other than natto.

彼(かれ)は言(い)われたこと以外(いがい)何(なに)もしないよ。

He will not do anything other than what he is told.

それ以外(いがい)に好(す)きなことないの？

Don't you have anything you like besides that?

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- Adverbial Nouns
  Imabi
- Different ways of saying "except"
  Self Taught Japanese
- 以外 in various situations
  Japanese For Beginners

Offline
- [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
  Page 54
- Tobira
  Page 216
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いがい – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (12 in total)

Pushindawood
except・besides
other than
with the exception of
Structure
- Noun + 以外
- Verb + 以外
View on Bunpro
max99x
The structure says this can be used by verbs, but all the examples are using nouns. Would be great to have some verb examples.
mrnoone
We are gonna do something about it
Very soon.
sarazara
I’m not sure when I can use いがい vs ほか? I keep making that mistake in my reviews.
Daru
ほか just means ‘other’ whereas いがい puts focus on what you’re contrasting, so it means ‘other than’ or ‘besides’.

So, to make an example:
ほかの店で買いたい。“I want to buy at another store”
Maybe you’re talking about the same brand, but at that branch they’ve run out of the thing.

店以外で買いたい。“I want to buy at any other shop but this one”
You’re dead set on NOT buying on this store. Everywhere is fine as long as its not here.

Hope that helps!
ultigonio
image942×140 11.1 KB

so, I got this one marke...
MikkaT
Hi, what does this part in the sentences mean or does it come from a grammar point?
nekoyama
The adverb こう means “like this”. Like これ/それ/あれ/どれ there are こう/そう/ああ/どう.

こう見えても as a whole means something like “despite appearances”.
MikkaT
Thank you. I’ve never seen it in that combination before.
ixxie
I have a question about an example sentence.

今日()は和食()いがいのものが食()べたい。
Today I want to eat something other than Japanese food.

The use of 以外 here is actually straightforward. I’m having trouble understanding the particles のもの。What are they doing in this sentence?
IcyIceBear
Only one particle there, the first の. Following that is もの as in 物 thing. 以外の物 “a thing other than”
ixxie
AHA! it makes perfect sense now! Thank you!
Wooper
I like that the “Fun Fact” points out 意外 as a different いがい than 以外, but when I read the tip
“以外いがい is also regularly used simply as an expression of surprise”
it makes it sound like 以外 is correct kanji… feel like it could be worded better.

I wonder if might also be useful to note that you can easily tell the difference when spoken because they have different pitch accents? i.e. with 以外 falling on the い and 意外 going up on the い.