How to say "exception" in Japanese

• 例外れいがいJLPT N2approx.Common
  no-adjectiveThe default word for an exception — something that does not follow a general rule or statement. Use it whenever you mean 'exception' in the ordinary sense, as in rules, policies, or generalizations.
  この規則きそくには例外れいがいは認みとめられない。↗

  This rule allows no exception.
• 除外じょがいJLPT N1approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbCovers exception in the sense of exclusion — something deliberately left out or removed from consideration. When 'exception' really means 'being excluded', this is the word; for rule-breaking cases, 例外 is better.
  このデータは除外じょがいした方ほうがいい。正確せいかくというには程ほどとおいものだ。↗

  We should leave out this data. It's far from accurate.
• 番外ばんがいCommon
  nounMeans being outside the regular number or list — something extra, supplementary, or not counted with the main group. It matches 'exception' only in this special sense and is not the usual word for a rule's exception.
• 別物べつものCommon
  nounException as in something being a different thing altogether, a case so unlike the rest that it stands apart. Fits when you say 'that's a different matter' rather than 'an exception to a rule'.
  学識がくしきと常識じょうしきは別物べつものだ。↗

  Learning is one thing, and common sense another.
• 特例とくれいCommon
  nounA special exception — a case granted different treatment from the general rule, often in official or formal contexts. Use it when the exception is specifically a privileged or special one, not just any exception.

Use 例外 for the general sense of exception, 特例 or 別物 for special cases treated as different, 除外 for exclusion from a group, and 番外 for something extra or outside the regular count.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 例外れいがいexception
• 除外じょがいexception
• 番外ばんがいexception
• 別物べつものanother thing
• 特例とくれいspecial case
• 変わり種かわりだねsomething out of the ordinary
• 除外例じょがいれいexception
• エクセプションexception
• 変種へんしゅvariant
• 別べつexception