除了

• Pinyin: chú le
• Hanzi breakdown: 除 = 阝(mound/hill) + 余 (surplus), originally meaning to clear away steps on a hill, extended to remove/except; 了 = a grammatical particle

Meaning

Besides; except; apart from. A preposition used to include or exclude items from a group.

Has two main patterns: 1) 除了...以外，还/也... (besides X, also Y — inclusive), 2) 除了...以外，都... (except for X, all Y — exclusive). The meaning depends on context and the following word (还/也 for inclusion, 都 for exclusion).

Examples

1. 除了中文，他还会说英语和日语。 Besides Chinese, he can also speak English and Japanese.
2. 除了周末，他每天都要上班。 Except for weekends, he has to go to work every day.
3. 除了下雨天以外，她都坚持跑步。 Apart from rainy days, she persists in running.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, comparison, listing

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 除了这个，你还有别的问题吗？(Apart from this, do you have any other questions?)
• 除了他以外，大家都同意了。(Apart from him, everyone agreed.)

Don't Say

• 除了不喜欢 (Don't use 除了 before a verb phrase without the full pattern — always complete the structure with 以外 + 还/也/都)

Origin & History

Compound of 除 (to remove, to divide) and 了 (particle), functioning as a preposition meaning 'setting aside' or 'apart from.'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal