之外 or 以外?

[winterpromise31]

I'm working through my grammar lesson and it uses both 之外 and 以外. The examples given are:

 

除了___ 之外 (以外)

•  我

•  英文

•  沈阳／沈陽

 

Which is more common? The lesson said 之 is more literary but I'm still not sure which I should be learning at my fairly low Chinese level. Is it worthwhile to learn both right now or just concentrate on whichever one is used in everyday speech?

 

Thanks!
Cassandra

[skylee]

They are the same to me. Both are common. I think I use 之外 more.

[winterpromise31]

So they are interchangeable? It looks like I'll just need to learn both. Thanks!

[Hofmann]

In this context, they are.

[Pedroski]

I like this webpage for checking usage of phrases in sentences, although the English is often catastrophal. I hope the Chinese is good, I can't judge that.

 

http://dj.iciba.com/%E4%B9%8B%E5%A4%96-1.html

 

http://dj.iciba.com/%E4%BB%A5%E5%A4%96-1.html

[winterpromise31]

Thank you! I came across 之外 on a Taiwanese website the day after I started learning it so it's definitely something I needed to learn! Thanks again!

[oceancalligraphy]

In the example given, the usage is equivalent, but I do think it does break down between verbal and literary usage.

I think I say either 以外 or 之外, but write 之外 because it sounds more polite.

I'm finding some problems with the Chinese in the sites posted above. It seems to do some search for characters and highlights them, but not neccessarily in the correct breakdown or the correct meaning. For example, the page for 以外 has an example

6. Vitamins can be applied externally to the skin.

维生素可以外用于皮肤。

The 以外 is highlighted, but the breakdown is that the 以 is part of 可以 (to suggest the afirmative) and the 外 is part of 外用 (meaning external). I would use the website with caution.

[Pedroski]

Oh yeah, the webpage is a mess, but it does come up with some good examples sometimes. It will find sentences with the characters entered even when the characters are not written together.

[tooironic]

Note also the common phrase 除此之外/除此以外 ("in addition to this"). I would say 以外 and 之外 are equally common, so you can use whichever you feel more comfortable saying.

[winterpromise31]

 

 

Note also the common phrase 除此之外/除此以外 ("in addition to this").

 

I don't know that phrase yet but am thrilled to find additional building blocks for the original word. I love how Chinese builds on previous, simpler grammar points.

[Jennifer Chen]

As a native speaker, we use 以外 more in the daily life.

[winterpromise31]

Thank you, Jennifer!!

[Jennifer Chen]

You are welcome Winterpromise.