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Revising the various usages of “als”, the website thegermanprofessor.com lists in section "(3) than (comparative conjunction)" the usage of “niemand als” as “nobody but”, unfortunately without an example.
Checking on the Internet, I have only found versions which use außer (e.g. Duden).
Außer dir habe ich keinen Freund.
Could this usage of „niemand als“ be a regional phenomenon?
"Niemand als" in the sense of "nobody but" is not a (very) contemporary German expression.
You'll find Niemand als in archaic texts like the Bible
Als sie aber ihre Augen aufhoben, sahen sie niemand als Jesus allein
(Matth. 17,18)
In contemporary German, this is generally replaced with außer.
You might also find negated sentences as standing expressions with als in the sense of "außer", like in:
Mit dem Kerl hat man nichts als Ärger
Ich schwöre, die Wahrheit zu sagen, nichts als die Wahrheit!
"Niemand als" is probably somewhat dated. You can find it in the Bible or in church hymns.
However, the variants "niemand anderer als" or "niemand anders als" are still in use.
Also the neuter variant "nichts als" is a commonly used expression.
