避 meaning in English

bì

to avoid; to shun

HSK 4verb16 strokes

Meaning of 避

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

bì

to avoid
to shun
to flee
to escape
to keep away from
to leave
to hide from

How to use 避

避 is most often used in compounds like 避免 (bìmiǎn, to avoid) and 躲避 (duǒbì, to hide from), and alone it appears in set phrases such as 避雨 (bìyǔ, to shelter from the rain). Example: 我们在树下避雨。(Wǒmen zài shù xià bìyǔ.) We sheltered from the rain under a tree.

避 is built from 辶 (the walking radical) and 辟 (pì), which gives the sound. Picture yourself walking away from something to keep your distance, and the walking radical reminds you that avoiding often means moving away.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 避 (bì) with 壁 (bì, wall) and 臂 (bì, arm), which share the same 辟 part and the same sound. Remember that only 避 has the walking radical 辶, because avoiding involves moving.

避 in example sentences

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

我wǒ要yào去qù打dǎ汤tāng姆mǔ，但dàn是shì他tā避bì开kāi了le。

I tried to hit Tom, but he ducked.

他tā四sì处chù寻xún找zhǎo避bì雨yǔ的de地dì方fāng。

He sought shelter from the rain.

洋yáng子zi回huí避bì我wǒ提tí出chū的de问wèn题tí。

Yoko avoided answering my question.

逃táo避bì并bìng不bù能néng解jiě决jué问wèn题tí。

Avoiding a problem isn't going to help you solve it.

不bú要yào逃táo避bì，我wǒ要yào你nǐ回huí答dá我wǒ的de问wèn题tí。

Don't dodge the issue, I want you to answer my question.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

避 bì · to avoid · 16 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 避.

避免	bìmiǎn	to avert; to prevent
回避	huíbì	to shun; to avoid (sb)
逃避	táobì	to escape; to evade
躲避	duǒbì	to hide; to evade
不可避免	bùkě-bìmiǎn	(idiom) inevitable; unavoidable
避难	bìnàn	to take refuge; to seek asylum
避暑	bìshǔ	to be away for the summer holidays; to spend a holiday at a summer resort
避开	bìkāi	to avoid; to evade
避难所	bìnànsuǒ	a refuge; a haven; a sanctuary
避孕套	bìyùntào	condom
避孕	bìyùn	contraception
避孕药	bìyùnyào	oral contraceptive

Questions about 避

What does 避 mean?

避 (bì) means "to avoid; to shun" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 避?

避 is made of 1 character: 避 (16 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.

Is 避 an HSK word?

Yes. 避 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of 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, like 避免错误 (avoid mistakes). 逃避 (táobì) means to run away from something you should face, like 逃避责任 (evade responsibility), so it often sounds negative.

How do you say something is unavoidable in Chinese?

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