Level 5 · Advanced
Hard to avoid: 难免
…，难免 + Verb Phrase / 是难免的 · Traditional: …，難免 + Verb Phrase / 是難免的
难免 (nánmiǎn) accepts something as humanly unavoidable: 刚开始工作，难免会犯错误 "when you're new to a job, mistakes are bound to happen." It doesn't excuse the outcome so much as forgive it in advance.
It often appears as …是难免的 ("…is only to be expected") and pairs with 会. Beware the trap 难免不: colloquially it means the same as 难免, so just skip the extra 不 and keep the sentence clean.
Examples
第一次表演，紧张是难免的。
第一次表演，緊張是難免的。
dì yī cì biǎo yǎn jǐn zhāng shì nán miǎn de
It's your first performance — being nervous is only natural.
人和人一起生活，难免会有矛盾。
人和人一起生活，難免會有矛盾。
rén hé rén yī qǐ shēng huó nán miǎn huì yǒu máo dùn
When people live together, friction is inevitable.
刚开始工作，难免会犯错误。
剛開始工作，難免會犯錯誤。
gāng kāi shǐ gōng zuò nán miǎn huì fàn cuò wù
When you're just starting out, mistakes are bound to happen.
天气变化这么大，难免会感冒。
天氣變化這麼大，難免會感冒。
tiān qì biàn huà zhè me dà nán miǎn huì gǎn mào
With the weather swinging like this, catching a cold is hard to avoid.
Common mistakes
✗ 刚学中文，难免不出错。
✓ 刚学中文，难免出错。
难免 already means "can't avoid" — adding 不 just muddies it. Say 难免出错.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like Talking Price (Part 4), The Sermon on the Mount - Part 1 (Matthew 5) inside the Literate Chinese app.
