TraceHanzi

避 meaning and stroke order

bì

To avoid; to shun; to flee

HSK 416 strokesRadical 辶
Strokes16
Pinyinbì
ToneTone 4
Frequency#1,146
Printable worksheetPractice all HSK 4 characters

How to write 避, stroke by stroke

16 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.

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Meaning of 避

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

bìfourth tone (falling)
  1. to avoid
  2. to shun
  3. to flee
  4. to escape
  5. to keep away from
  6. to leave

How 避 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Foot.

chuòto walk+pìlaw

辶 gives the meaning and 辟 hints at the sound.

Radical: 辶 (to walk), shared by 131 characters on this site.

How to remember 避

避 is built from 辶, the walking or foot component, plus 辟 (pì), which gives the sound. Picture your feet 辶 carrying you away from something you want to avoid.

避 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It usually appears in words like 避免 (bìmiǎn, to avoid or prevent), 躲避 (duǒbì, to hide from) and 避开 (bìkāi, to steer clear of). Example: 我们要避免犯同样的错误。(Wǒmen yào bìmiǎn fàn tóngyàng de cuòwù.) We should avoid making the same mistake.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 避 with 壁 (bì, wall) and 臂 (bì, arm), because all three share 辟 and are read bì. Only 避 has the walking component 辶, which fits its meaning of moving away.

Common words with 避

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
避免bìmiǎnto avert; to preventHSK 4
回避huíbìto shun; to avoid (sb)HSK 5
逃避táobìto escape; to evadeHSK 7-9
躲避duǒbìto hide; to evadeHSK 7-9
不可避免bùkě-bìmiǎn(idiom) inevitable; unavoidableHSK 7-9
避难bìnànto take refuge; to seek asylumHSK 7-9
避暑bìshǔto be away for the summer holidays; to spend a holiday at a summer resortHSK 7-9
避开bìkāito avoid; to evade
避难所bìnànsuǒa refuge; a haven; a sanctuary
避孕套bìyùntàocondom
避孕bìyùncontraception
避孕药bìyùnyàooral contraceptive
无可避免wúkěbìmiǎnsee 不可避免[bu4 ke3 bi4 mian3]
躲避球duǒbìqiúdodgeball

避 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā们men尽jǐn一yī切qiè手shǒu段duàn避bì免miǎn战zhàn争zhēng。
They explored every avenue in an attempt to avoid war.
有yǒu时shí候hòu，政zhèng治zhì真zhēn的de很hěn难nán逃táo避bì。
Sometimes politics is really hard to avoid.
你nǐ为wèi什shén么me总zǒng是shì逃táo避bì这zhè个ge话huà题tí？
Why do you always avoid that topic?
我wǒ想xiǎng要yào避bì免miǎn问wèn题tí太tài多duō的de手shǒu机jī。
I want to avoid phones that have too many issues.
有yǒu些xiē事shì情qíng，人rén们men喜xǐ欢huān避bì而ér不bù谈tán。
There are some things that people like to avoid discussing.

Questions about 避

How many strokes are in 避?

避 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 避 mean?

避 (bì) means to avoid; to shun; to flee. A common word with it is 避免 (bìmiǎn), meaning "to avert; to prevent".

How do you pronounce 避?

避 is pronounced bì, in the fourth tone (falling).

What is the radical of 避?

The radical of 避 is 辶, which carries the idea of "to walk". Dictionaries list 避 under this radical.

Is 避 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 避 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 避免 and 逃避?

避免 (bìmiǎn) means to prevent or avoid a bad result, and it is neutral, as in 避免错误. 逃避 (táobì) means to run away from something you should face, like responsibility, so it often sounds negative.

How do you say something is unavoidable in Chinese?

Use the set phrase 不可避免 (bùkě bìmiǎn). For example, 冲突是不可避免的 (Chōngtū shì bùkě bìmiǎn de) means conflict is inevitable.

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