Expressing "hard to avoid" with "nanmian"

难免 (nánmiǎn) means "to be unavoidable" or "inevitable" and is most commonly placed before a verb phrase, often including an auxiliary verb such as 会 or 要. It is normally used to introduce an inevitable situation that is negative.

Structure

(Subj. +) 难免 + Verb Phrase

Examples

• 刚 开始 说 外语 时 难免 会 有 一些 误会。Gāng kāishǐ shuō wàiyǔ shí nánmiǎn huì yǒu yīxiē wùhuì.When you first start speaking a foreign language, there are inevitably going to be some misunderstandings.
• 年轻 人 难免 会 遇到 挫折，关键 是 学习 怎么样 克服。Niánqīng rén nánmiǎn huì yù dào cuòzhé, guānjiàn shì xuéxí zěnme yàng kèfú.Young people can't avoid facing setbacks, but the most important thing is to learn how to overcome them.
• 第一 次 坐 飞机 出国 难免 会 有点 兴奋 。Dì-yī cì zuò fēijī chūguó nánmiǎn huì yǒudiǎn xīngfèn.There‘s no way to not feel excited about it the first time you get on a plane to go abroad.
• 现在 是 高峰期，地铁 难免 会 拥挤。Xiànzài shì gāofēng qī, dìtiě nánmiǎn huì yǒngjǐ.It's rush hour right now. There's no way to avoid the congestion in the subway.
• 这 家 公司 的 实习生 难免 要 做 一些 打杂 的 事。Zhè jiā gōngsī de shíxí shēng nánmiǎn yào zuò yīxiē dǎzá de shì.There's no way for the interns at this firm to avoid doing some random odd jobs.
• 刚 离开 家 的时候 难免 会 想家。Gāng líkāi jiā de shíhou nánmiǎn huì xiǎng jiā.When you first leave home, you can't help but feel homesick.
• 车上 人 多 难免 会 遇到 小偷，你 要 小心点。Chē shàng rén duō nánmiǎn huì yùdào xiǎotōu, nǐ yào xiǎoxīn diǎn.There are a lot of people on the bus, so you will inevitably run into thieves. You need to be careful.
• 刚 开始 工作，经验 不 多， 难免 会 出错。Gāng kāishǐ gōngzuò, jīngyàn bù duō, nánmiǎn huì chūcuò.When you first start working, you will inevitably make mistakes because you don't have much experience.
• 投资 可以 很 快 变 富，但是 也 难免 有 风险。Tóuzī kěyǐ hěn kuài biàn fù, dànshì yě nánmiǎn yǒu fēngxiǎn.Investments can make you rich quickly, but you can't avoid risk.
• 这 是 我 第一 次 表演 难免 有 一些 紧张。Zhè shì wǒ dì-yī cì biǎoyǎn nánmiǎn yǒu yīxiē jǐnzhāng.This is my first time performing, so I can't help but feel a little nervous.

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词 (pp. 408-409) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

HSK5