避免 meaning in English

bìmiǎn

to avert; to prevent

HSK 4verb23 strokes

Meaning of 避免

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

bìmiǎn

to avert
to prevent
to avoid
to refrain from

How to use 避免

避免 is usually followed by a bad result, a problem, or an action you want to keep from happening. It sounds a bit formal and is common in advice, news, and instructions. Example: 多喝水可以避免感冒。(Duō hē shuǐ kěyǐ bìmiǎn gǎnmào.) Drinking more water can help you avoid catching a cold.

Think of 避 (bì) as stepping aside to dodge something, and 免 (miǎn) as being let off or exempted, like in 免费 (miǎnfèi, free of charge). Dodge it and be spared from it: 避免 means to avoid.

Common mistake: Learners often use 避免 for avoiding a person, as in 我避免他. For people, Chinese usually says 回避 (huíbì) or 躲着他 (duǒzhe tā). 避免 is for situations and outcomes. Also keep both syllables in the fourth and third tones: bì miǎn, not bǐ mián.

避免 in example sentences

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

Tom想xiǎng要yào避bì免miǎn却què做zuò不bú到dào。

Tom wanted to avoid it, but he couldn't.

战zhàn争zhēng并bìng非fēi不bù可kě避bì免miǎn。

War is not inevitable.

为wèi了le避bì免miǎn误wù解jiě，他tā们men又yòu过guò了le一yī遍biàn合hé同tóng。

In order to avoid misunderstandings, they went through the contract again.

战zhàn争zhēng必bì须xū不bù惜xī一yí切qiè代dài价jià地dì去qù避bì免miǎn。

War must be avoided at all costs.

可kě能néng带dài来lái误wù解jiě的de情qíng况kuàng都dōu是shì不bù可kě避bì免miǎn的de。

Anything that can be misunderstood will be.

Stroke order for each character

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

避 bì · to avoid · 16 strokes

免 miǎn · to excuse sb · 7 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 避免.

免费	miǎnfèi	free (of charge)
难免	nánmiǎn	hard to avoid; difficult to escape from
回避	huíbì	to shun; to avoid (sb)
不免	bùmiǎn	inevitably
免得	miǎnde	so as not to; so as to avoid
逃避	táobì	to escape; to evade
躲避	duǒbì	to hide; to evade
以免	yǐmiǎn	in order to avoid; so as not to
不可避免	bùkě-bìmiǎn	(idiom) inevitable; unavoidable
避难	bìnàn	to take refuge; to seek asylum
免疫	miǎnyì	immunity (to disease)
免除	miǎnchú	to prevent; to avoid

Questions about 避免

What does 避免 mean?

避免 (bìmiǎn) means "to avert; to prevent" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 避免?

避免 is made of 2 characters: 避 (16 strokes), 免 (7 strokes). That is 23 strokes in total.

Is 避免 an HSK word?

Yes. 避免 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 避免 and 免得?

避免 is a verb that takes an object: 避免错误 (avoid mistakes). 免得 (miǎnde) links two clauses and means so as not to, as in 早点走，免得迟到 (leave early so you won't be late).

Can I say 避免不了?

Yes. 避免不了 means it cannot be avoided, and 不可避免 (bù kě bìmiǎn) means inevitable. A similar idea is expressed by 难免 (nánmiǎn), which means something is hard to avoid.