不免
bùmiǎn · HSK 5
unavoidably
🚫 不 = not + 免 = avoid → cannot be avoided → unavoidably
不 means not, and 免 means to avoid or exempt. Together they form a literary adverb meaning that something cannot be exempted from happening — it inevitably occurs.
不 — single pictograph; bird flying upward
Originally a pictograph in oracle bone script, traditionally interpreted as a bird flying up toward the sky and unable to come down, suggesting negation or refusal. Over time it became the standard negation word in Chinese, used before verbs and adjectives to mean 'not'.
免 — pictograph of a person 人 with a hat or helmet
免 originally depicted a person wearing a hat or helmet, suggesting removal or taking off. The meaning shifted to 'avoid, exempt, escape from' — as in escaping a duty or being spared. It is graphically related to 兔 (rabbit), but the two characters have distinct origins.