Chinese word

避免

Pronunciation

Pinyinbì miǎn

Meaning

  • verbavoid

Example

为了健康，我尽量避免熬夜。wèi le jiàn kāng wǒ jǐn liàng bì miǎn áo yè

To stay healthy, I try to avoid staying up late.

Illustration for 避免 (avoid)

More examples

在交流中，我们要避免误会。zài jiāo liú zhōng wǒ men yào bì miǎn wù huì

In communication, we should avoid misunderstandings.

Core concept

Create distance from an unwanted situation so it does not happen or causes less trouble.

Common phrases

  • 避免误会bì miǎn wù huì

    avoid misunderstandings

  • 避免冲突bì miǎn chōng tū

    avoid conflict

  • 避免错误bì miǎn cuò wù

    avoid mistakes

Similar words

防止fáng zhǐ: Taking action beforehand keeps a problem or accident from occurring.
避开bì kāi: Staying away from a dangerous or obstructing thing.
躲避duǒ bì: Hiding or moving the body out of the way of danger or attack.

Definition in Chinese

为了不发生某种情况而采取措施或改变做法，使其不出现或影响最小化。wèi le bù fā shēng móu zhǒng qíng kuàng ér cái qǔ cuò shī huò gǎi biàn zuò fǎ shǐ qí bù chū xiàn huò yíng xiǎng zuì xiǎo huà

Word origin

避免 (bìmiǎn, "avoid") joins 避 (bì, "move away from") with 免 (miǎn, "be spared"), linking withdrawal with protection from an unwanted result.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, this verb often comes directly before a noun or verb phrase, while English commonly changes the following action into an -ing form.

Other meanings

  • evadeverb
  • escapeverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word