以外 details
write + other than
kaku igaini
other than; except for
meaning: other than writing
彼以外、誰も知らないと思うよ。
kare igai, dare mo shiranai to omou yo.
I don't think anyone besides him knows. casual
もう謝るいがいに方法はない。
mou ayamaru igaini houhou wa nai.
There is no way other than apologizing at this point. neutral
- dictionary form
- noun
Examples
N以外は/も — other than N; everything outside N is what the rest of the sentence describes
彼以外、誰も知らないと思うよ。
kare igai, dare mo shiranai to omou yo.
I don't think anyone besides him knows. casual
会員以外の方もご利用いただけます。
kaiin igai no kata mo go riyou itadakemasu.
Those who are not members may also use this service. formal
N以外に〜ない — nothing besides N; every alternative but N is ruled out
もう謝るいがいに方法はない。
mou ayamaruigaini houhou wa nai.
There is no way other than apologizing at this point. neutral
あなた以外に頼れる人がいない。
anata igai ni tayoreru hito ga inai.
There's no one I can rely on besides you. neutral
Formation
{N}いがいattaches to noun{V}いがいにattaches to dictionary form
Related patterns
Similar
以外にない and よりほかない both close off every alternative to leave one thing standing, but 以外にない reads as a plain list with one item excluded (これ以外にない), while よりほかない reads as options ruled out one by one until nothing else survives — the first is arithmetic, the second is resignation.
以外 attaches straight onto the noun and can itself carry が as the sentence's own subject (これ以外が必要だ); を除いて is the て-form of 除く "to remove" and stays a verbal adverbial phrase describing an action performed on the set, never itself the sentence's subject (×を除いてが).
Opposite
- だけrestrict-vs-exclude
だけ closes the set down to exactly N and leaves everything outside it unaddressed; 以外 flips the boundary the other way and puts everything BUT N into play — 彼だけ来た "only he came" and 彼以外はみんな来た "everyone but him came" answer opposite questions about the same boundary.