除了... 还有...
Reach for this when you want to add another item to something you've already mentioned — 'besides X, there's also Y.' It's how Chinese stacks items in a list without restarting the sentence. The first half names what's already on the table, the second half drops in the new addition. Works for people, places, things, reasons, anything countable. Very common in spoken Chinese the moment you remember one more thing.
Structure
除了 [KNOWN] 还有 [ADDITION]
chúle... hái yǒu...
How to Think About It
Think of 除了 as 'on top of' rather than 'except for.' When paired with 还有, the first item stays included — you're saying both X and Y, not 'Y instead of X.' That's the difference from English 'except,' which excludes. Here, the second clause builds on the first.
Examples
除了咖啡,还有茶。
Chúle kāfēi, hái yǒu chá.
Besides coffee, there's also tea.
除了中文,他还有英文课。
Chúle Zhōngwén, tā hái yǒu Yīngwén kè.
Besides Chinese, he also has an English class.
除了北京,中国还有很多大城市。
Chúle Běijīng, Zhōngguó hái yǒu hěn duō dà chéngshì.
Besides Beijing, China has many other big cities.
Common Mistake
Learners often drop 还 and just say 除了...有..., which sounds incomplete. The 还 (also/still) is what carries the 'in addition' meaning — without it, the listener waits for the real verb.
除了美国,有很多国家也卖手机。
除了美国,还有很多国家也卖手机。
Don't Confuse With
除了...以外...
Same starter, but 以外 can mean 'except for' (excluding) — use it with 都 for 'everyone except X.' Use 还有 when you're adding, not excluding.
不但...而且...
Also adds, but escalates from a base fact to a stronger one ('not only... but also'). Use 除了...还有... when listing items, 不但...而且... when intensifying a point.
还有
Standalone 还有 just means 'also/and.' Pair it with 除了 when the first item is the reference point everyone already knows.
Practice
___ 你,还有谁去?
Show answer
除了
除了苹果,___有香蕉。
Show answer
还
Arrange: 还有 / 我 / 除了 / 一个 / 妹妹 / 一个 / 弟弟
Show answer
除了一个妹妹,我还有一个弟弟。
Besides English, I also speak Chinese.
Show answer
除了英文,我还会说中文。
Write one sentence using 除了...还有... about food you like.
Show answer
除了米饭,我还喜欢吃面条。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 5 Fluentide episodes: