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幸免 (xìng miǎn) — to narrowly escape (a disaster); to avoid (an unpleasant fate) by luck

Definition

幸免 (xìngmiǎn) means to narrowly escape a disaster by luck — emphasizes lucky survival, unlike 免 or 免除, which focus on averting or exempting without the luck angle. Often pairs with 于难 ('escape death').

verb
to narrowly escape (a disaster)to avoid (an unpleasant fate) by luck

Examples

  • ，幸免。
    Tā chà yì diǎn zài huǒ zāi zhōng shòu shāng, dàn zuì hòu xìng miǎn yú nàn.
    He was almost injured in the fire but narrowly escaped disaster in the end.
  • 幸免。
    Zhè cì dì zhèn ràng hěn duō rén wú fǎ xìng miǎn yú nàn.
    This earthquake made it impossible for many people to escape death.
  • 幸免。
    Gōng sī xìng miǎn le pò chǎn de mìng yùn.
    The company avoided the fate of bankruptcy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

幸xìnglucky
免miǎnavoid

With 幸 meaning lucky and 免 meaning avoid, the sense is narrowly escaping.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 幸 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

免 originally drew a man wearing a ceremonial hat. It was later used for meanings such as avoid and exempt.

Open 免 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Safety & Danger

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