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难免 (nán miǎn) — inevitable; hard to avoid

Definition

难免 (nánmiǎn) means something is hard to avoid given the situation — it focuses on what tends to happen, not on a strict certainty. Weaker than 必然, which states an outcome is certain or necessary.

adjective
inevitablehard to avoid

Examples

  • ，难免。
    Xué xí xīn dōng xī de shí hou, nán miǎn huì fàn cuò wù.
    When learning something new, it's inevitable to make mistakes.
  • ，难免。
    Dà chéng shì shàng xià bān gāo fēng shí jiān, nán miǎn dǔ chē.
    During rush hour in big cities, traffic jams are hard to avoid.
  • ，难免。
    Liǎng gè rén zài yì qǐ jiǔ le, nán miǎn huì yǒu máo dùn.
    When two people have been together for a long time, conflicts are inevitable.

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.

难nánhard
免miǎnavoid

难 (hard) and 免 (avoid) mean hard to avoid, so inevitable.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 難; 难 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
暵
暵hàn難nán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 難 pairs 隹, a bird, with 暵 for sound, and meant a type of bird. It was later borrowed for other meanings; the modern 难 is a shorthand.

Open 难 →

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 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6

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