Expressing "hard to avoid" with "nanmian"

难免 (nánmiǎn) means "to be unavoidable" or "inevitable" and is most commonly placed before a verb, often an auxillary verb such as 会 or 要. It can only be used to introduce an inevitable situation that is characterized by negative features. One cannot use 难免 to talk of a positive inevitability e.g. you will inevitably have a good time.

Structure

(Subject)+难免+verb...

Examples

  • 刚 开始 说 外语 时 难免 会 有 一些 误会。
  • 年轻 人 难免 会 遇到 挫折,最 关键 的 是 学习 怎么样 克服。
  • 现在 是 高峰期,地铁 难免 拥挤。

Using a negative in the phrase after 难免 does not change the meaning of the sentence. So, for example, 难免不拥挤 and 难免拥挤 mean the same thing.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK5