〜を除いて / を除き: Formal 'Except For' in Written Japanese
Marking an exception before a near-total statement
At N1 level, 〜を除いて/を除き often appears right before words emphasizing that almost everyone or everything is covered — 全員, 皆, ほぼ全て — which is what makes the excluded item stand out.
一部の地域を除いて、全国で桜が満開になった。
いちぶの ちいきを のぞいて、ぜんこくで さくらが まんかいに なった。
Except for a few regions, cherry blossoms were in full bloom nationwide.
Nationwide (全国) coverage makes the small excluded area stand out.
やったんを除いて、全員が試験に合格した。
やったんを のぞいて、ぜんいんが しけんに ごうかくした。
Except for Yattan, everyone passed the exam.
全員 (everyone) sharpens the sense that Yattan is the sole exception.
Form: を除いて vs the literary を除き
| Register | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Noun + を除いて、〜 | 週末を除いて、営業しています |
| Literary / report-style | Noun + を除き、〜 | 一部を除き、通常通り運行しています |
台風の影響で、一部の路線を除き、電車は通常通り運行している。
たいふうの えいきょうで、いちぶの ろせんを のぞき、でんしゃは つうじょうどおり うんこうしている。
Due to the typhoon, except for some lines, trains are running as usual.
を除き reads as clipped, formal news-style Japanese — you won't hear it in casual speech.
Nuance: register, not meaning
を除いて and を除き mean exactly the same thing; the difference is purely register. を除き is reserved for writing — news broadcasts, official reports, legal text — and never appears in casual conversation, where を除いて is used instead.
The short version
- 〜を除いて / を除き = "except for / excluding [X]"
- Attaches to: Noun + を除いて (speech/writing) or Noun + を除き (formal writing only)
- Nuance/register: を除き is a literary, report-style shortening of を除いて — same meaning, stiffer tone
- Don't confuse with: casual を除いて, which works everywhere but sounds too soft for legal/news text
Practice it
Choose を除いて for the formal exception before a near-total statement.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
＿＿＿、毎日営業しています。
Where 〜を除いて / を除き fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- 〜てください · N5 — 〜てください is the standard way to politely ask someone to do something ('please do…'). Learn the formation, the negative 〜ないでください, softer variations, and see clear examples.
- 〜を除いて · N2 — 〜を除いて means 'except for / excluding X,' carving one item out of a group before describing the rest; often strengthened to 〜を除いては when contrasting the exception more sharply against everything else.
More N1 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜をおいて — 〜をおいて, almost always paired with a negative like いない or ない, means 'other than X, there is no one/nothing' — an emphatic, rhetorical way of saying X is the only one truly qualified.
- 〜を余儀なくされる — 〜を余儀なくされる means 'to be forced/compelled to (do)' by circumstances beyond one's control. Formal written Japanese, always passive in feeling — the subject has no real choice.
- 〜をよそに — 〜をよそに means 'disregarding' or 'paying no attention to' — someone acts without regard for others' worry, expectations, or a surrounding situation. Formal, and often carries a note of criticism or striking contrast.
- 〜や否や — 〜や否や means 'the moment that / no sooner than' — a second event follows the first with zero gap. Formal written Japanese used for dramatic, immediate sequences of action.
- 〜ゆえに — 〜ゆえに is a formal, literary expression meaning 'therefore' or 'because of' — it attaches to nouns and adjectives (often with が or の) to state a reason in written, academic, or classical-sounding Japanese.
- 〜ざる — 〜ざる is the classical attributive negative form (from ず), fossilized today in formal set phrases like ざるを得ない ('cannot help but'), ざる事情 ('unavoidable circumstances'), and ざるべからず ('must not fail to').