除了
chúle
Lift one out of the fence — then maybe put it back
The picture Reaching into a fenced yard, lifting one thing out and standing it outside — and sometimes setting it back in. 除了 lifts one out and stands it outside the fence; 连…都 pulls even the outermost one inside.
Where the picture shows up in 除了
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the one lifted out
除了小李，大家都来了。
chú le xiǎo lǐ, dà jiā dōu lái le
Everyone came except Xiao Li.
Every seat filled but one, where a name card lies on the empty chair.
With 都 or 只 following, the one taken out stays out.
-
taken out, then put back
除了汉语，他还会说日语。
chú le hàn yǔ, tā hái huì shuō rì yǔ
Besides Chinese, he speaks Japanese too.
The 'Chinese' card slid aside, and a 'Japanese' card found hanging right next to it.
With 还 or 也 following, the one taken out gets counted in after all.
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every day but the weekend
我除了周末都有空。
wǒ chú le zhōu mò dōu yǒu kòng
I'm free any day except weekends.
A hand covering only the Saturday and Sunday squares, leaving every other square on the calendar clear.
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that one and nobody else
除了他以外，没有人知道。
chú le tā yǐ wài, méi yǒu rén zhī dào
Nobody knows except him.
One person standing outside the fence while everyone inside shakes their head.
All of it in one picture
除了 first lifts one thing out and stands it outside the fence. The name card on the empty chair is the one left out; the calendar under a covering hand is every day but the weekend. But when 还 or 也 follows, the thing comes back in, the way a 'Japanese' card turns up beside the 'Chinese' one. So it isn't 除了 that decides — the clause after it says whether the lifted item stays out or goes back in.