Meaning of 难免
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- hard to avoid
- difficult to escape from
- will inevitably
How to use 难免
难免 describes something that naturally tends to happen, often a small problem or mistake. It usually comes before a verb phrase, and is often followed by 会 or 要. Example: 第一次做饭，难免会出错。(Dì yī cì zuò fàn, nánmiǎn huì chūcuò.) It is hard to avoid mistakes the first time you cook.
难 (nán) means hard and 免 (miǎn) means to avoid or be exempt, so 难免 is literally hard to avoid. Think of it as something that is too hard to escape.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes add 不 by analogy with 免不了, writing 难免不出错 when they mean 难免出错. In standard usage, 难免出错 and 难免会出错 both mean mistakes are hard to avoid. Also note the third tone on 免 (miǎn), not the fourth.
难免 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
难 nán · difficult · 10 strokes
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- 10
免 miǎn · to excuse sb · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 难免.
| 难过 | nánguò | to feel sad; to feel unwell |
| 难受 | nánshòu | to feel unwell; to suffer pain |
| 难看 | nánkàn | ugly; unsightly |
| 难题 | nántí | difficult problem |
| 难听 | nántīng | unpleasant to hear; coarse |
| 难道 | nándào | don't tell me ...; could it be that...? |
| 困难 | kùnnan | difficult; challenging |
| 难度 | nándù | degree of difficulty |
| 免费 | miǎnfèi | free (of charge) |
| 避免 | bìmiǎn | to avert; to prevent |
| 艰难 | jiānnán | difficult; arduous; hard |
| 灾难 | zāinàn | disaster; catastrophe |
Questions about 难免
What does 难免 mean?
难免 (nánmiǎn) means "hard to avoid; difficult to escape from" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 难免?
难免 is made of 2 characters: 难 (10 strokes), 免 (7 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 难免 an HSK word?
Yes. 难免 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 难免 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 难免 is written 難免.
What is the difference between 难免 and 避免?
避免 (bìmiǎn) is a verb meaning to actively avoid something, as in 避免错误 (avoid mistakes). 难免 says something is hard to avoid and will likely happen anyway. They point in opposite directions.
Can 难免 stand alone as a predicate?
Yes, it can appear after the noun it describes, often with 是...的. For example, 误会是难免的 (Wùhuì shì nánmiǎn de) means misunderstandings are unavoidable.