How to use 难免
Subject + 难免 + (会 / 要) + predicate
难免 presents an outcome as difficult to prevent under the circumstances. It often softens criticism by recognizing that mistakes, misunderstandings, or setbacks can naturally arise. The result is frequently unwelcome, but that is a tendency rather than an absolute requirement: understandable excitement or other feelings can also be described this way. Context supplies the reason the outcome seems likely.
Place 难免 before the predicate, sometimes followed by 会 or 要. Expressions of degree can make the claim appropriately modest, rather than suggesting the result must always be severe. The phrase already carries the idea of difficulty avoiding something, so interpret additional negatives carefully instead of assuming they cancel its meaning mechanically.
Examples with pinyin and English
刚开始说外语时难免会有一些误会。
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，关键是学习怎么克服。
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。
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。
It's rush hour right now. There's no way to avoid the congestion in the subway.
What to remember
- Use 难免 for an understandable or hard-to-avoid outcome.
- 会 can introduce the likely result after 难免.
- Do not restrict the expression to negative emotions.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
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