Except

以外いがい means “other than” or “except for”. It is added directly to nouns and verbs in their dictionary form.

緊急きんきゅうの場合ばあい以外いがいは、通常つうじょうの診療しんりょう時間じかん内ないに診療しんりょうを受うけてください。

Except in cases of emergency, please receive medical care within the usual consultation hours.

関係者かんけいしゃ以外いがい立入たちいり禁止きんし。

Authorized personnel only. (Lit: Except for authorized personnel, entry is forbidden).

Modifying Nouns (以外の)

Critical Rule: Because 以外 functions grammatically as a noun, if you want it to directly modify another noun, you must connect them using the particle の (e.g., 〜以外の + Noun).

彼かれはまだ回復中かいふくちゅうなので、スープ以外いがいのものが食たべられない。

He’s still recovering so he cannot eat anything other than soup.

Using Particles (以外に vs. 以外は)

You will frequently see 以外 paired with the particles に or は, depending on its function in the sentence:

• 以外に (Besides/Other than): This is most often paired with a negative verb ending to express that “there is nothing else besides X”.
• 以外は (Except for): This is used to exclude a specific item or person from a broader statement.

最初さいしょからやり直なおす以外いがいに方法ほうほうがない。

There is no method other than starting from square one.

それ以外いがいは何なにも考かんがえられない。

I can’t think of anything other than that.

和田わだ以外いがいは全員ぜんいん参加さんかした。

Everyone joined except Wada.