A common mistake learners make with 除了...以外 (chúle...yǐwài) is setting up the frame and then forgetting the adverb that has to follow it. The pattern needs 也 (yě) or 还 (hái) to mean "besides," or 都 (dōu) to mean "except" — drop that adverb and the sentence falls apart. This live lesson fixes that habit through real speaking practice.
The structure frames something, then follows with an adverb to shift the meaning. Add 也 (yě) or 还 (hái) to list additional things you like, do, or know. Add 都 (dōu) to point out the one exception in a group. The key sentence shows the "besides" use:
除了中文以外，我也会说日语 (chúle zhōngwén yǐwài, wǒ yě huì shuō Rìyǔ) — "Besides Chinese, I can also speak Japanese."
Here, 中文 (zhōngwén) is the framed item, and 也 (yě) signals that Japanese is an addition, not an exception. After this lesson, you can tell a friend everything you enjoy — or the one thing you avoid.
You talk out loud with Mei Lin, our AI teacher, in a real-time voice conversation — no typing. Each lesson targets one grammar pattern and takes roughly 10 minutes. Mei Lin corrects your grammar and pronunciation in the flow of conversation and adapts to your level, so you practice the pattern in natural exchanges rather than fill-in-the-blank drills. You can try the first lesson free.
When you're ready for more, explore the full set of HSK 3 lessons, or try another HSK 3 live lesson on 以前 (yǐqián) and another HSK 3 live lesson on potential complements. To reinforce what you learn, print handwriting sheets with our free Chinese worksheet generator.
The adverb after the pattern decides the meaning. Follow with 也 (yě) or 还 (hái) and you're adding things — "besides." Follow with 都 (dōu) and you're excluding something — "except." The key sentence 除了中文以外，我也会说日语 uses 也 (yě), so it means "Besides Chinese, I can also speak Japanese," not "except Chinese."
Each live conversation lesson targets one grammar pattern and takes roughly 10 minutes. You'll talk with Mei Lin about things you like, do, or know beyond just one — and practice pointing out exceptions. She corrects grammar and pronunciation as you speak, so the focus stays on using the pattern naturally.
Yes. You can print handwriting worksheets with our free Chinese Worksheet Generator. Ready-made packs cover HSK 1 through 3 vocabulary, so you can reinforce the characters you encounter in this lesson alongside your other HSK 3 study materials.
This lesson is part of our HSK 3 series. After mastering Besides and Except, you might try the live lesson on 以前 (yǐqián) for talking about things that happened before, or the lesson on potential complements with 得了/不了 (deliǎo/buliǎo) to express whether you can or cannot handle something.