以外
yǐwài · HSK 2
except
🚪 以外 = 以 (by/with) + 外 (outside) → beyond a boundary
以 marks a reference point and 外 means outside, so 以外 literally reads as outside-of-that-reference. Use it after a noun to mean except for X or other than X, e.g. 我以外 = other than me.
以 — phonetic 㠯 (plow/tool) + 人 (person)
Originally a pictograph of a hand-held plow or tool (㠯), later combined with 人 (person) to suggest 'using' something. The core meaning 'to use' extended metaphorically to 'by means of', 'with', and 'because of'. In modern Chinese it functions mainly as a grammatical particle.
外 — evening 夕 + divination 卜
Originally a compound of 夕 (evening) and 卜 (divination). Ancient Chinese divinations were performed in the morning; doing them at evening (夕) was considered irregular or 'outside' the norm. From this sense of deviation, 外 came to mean 'outside' or 'external'.