免疫
miǎnyì · HSK 7
immune
💉🦠 免 avoid + 疫 epidemic = exempt from the plague = immune
免 means to avoid or be exempt (as in 免费 free of charge), and 疫 means epidemic or plague (as in 疫情 outbreak). Together: exempt from disease, hence immune or to immunize.
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.