1.
outside one's specialty; not one's field of expertise
Describes a subject, topic, or area of work that falls outside what a person specializes in or is professionally knowledgeable about.
それは専門外です。
That's outside my area of expertise.
専門外のことはよくわからない。
I don't know much about things outside my field.
専門外の質問にも丁寧に答えてくれた。
They kindly answered questions that were outside their specialty.
Formed from 専門 (specialty) + 外 (outside). Commonly used by professionals to politely decline answering questions or to express the limits of their knowledge. Functions as a noun and as a modifier with の.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 専門外のことはわからない: I don't understand things outside my field
- 専門外の分野: a field outside one's specialty
- 専門外の質問: a question outside one's expertise
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 門外漢: layperson; outsider to a field — more literary, emphasizes being an amateur
- 畑違い: wrong field; not one's area — more colloquial, implies a mismatch
- 素人: amateur; layperson — broader term for someone without expertise