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Mythic Mandarin

It's bound to happen: 难免

HSK 5 Unit 4: Luck and necessity · Lesson 2 of 5 · About 26 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can say that something is hard to avoid with 难免, and reassure someone about mistakes and nerves.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    What does 幸亏 mean?

    1. almost, nearly
    2. data
    3. luckily, fortunately
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, luckily, fortunately.

    幸亏 (xìngkuī) means luckily, fortunately.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “thanks to”?

    1. 此外
    2. 多亏
    3. 由于
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 多亏.

    “thanks to” is 多亏 (duōkuī).

  3. Listening

    From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    态度 tàidu

    1. attitude
    2. however
    3. for example
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, attitude.

    You heard 态度 (tàidu): attitude.

New words

  • 难免nánmiǎnhard to avoid, bound to
  • 犯错fàncuòto make a mistake
  • 正常zhèngchángnormal
  • 新手xīnshǒubeginner, novice

难免

难免 (nánmiǎn) says something is natural or hard to avoid in a situation. It often comes with 会.

  • 刚开始工作，难免会犯错。

    Gāng kāishǐ gōngzuò, nánmiǎn huì fàncuò.

    When you've just started a job, you're bound to make mistakes.

  • 第一次上台，难免有点儿紧张。

    Dì yī cì shàngtái, nánmiǎn yǒudiǎnr jǐnzhāng.

    The first time on stage, it's natural to be a bit nervous.

  • 这是很正常的。

    Zhè shì hěn zhèngcháng de.

    That's completely normal.

Characters

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

First week nerves

Anna started a new job and made a mistake. Chen Jing reassures her.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

Helpful words: 上台 shàngtái to go on stage; 注意 zhùyì to pay attention; 感觉 gǎnjué to feel

  1. Listening

    Listen first. What mistake did Anna make?

    1. missed a meeting with a client
    2. lost an important file
    3. wrote a client's name wrong
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, wrote a client's name wrong.

    把客户的名字写错了.

  2. Listening

    What does Chen Jing say about her nerves?

    1. She should quit.
    2. She should see a doctor.
    3. It's normal.
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, It's normal..

    这很正常.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 安娜

    我Wǒ今天jīntiān把bǎ客户kèhù的de名字míngzi写xiě错cuò了le，经理jīnglǐ很hěn不bù高兴gāoxìng。

    Today I wrote a client's name wrong, and the manager wasn't happy.

  2. 陈静

    你Nǐ是shì新手xīnshǒu，难免nánmiǎn会huì犯错fàncuò。下次Xiàcì注意zhùyì就jiù行xíng了le。

    You're new; mistakes are bound to happen. Just be careful next time.

  3. 安娜

    可是Kěshì我wǒ每天měitiān都dōu很hěn紧张jǐnzhāng。

    But I'm nervous every day.

  4. 陈静

    这Zhè很hěn正常zhèngcháng。刚Gāng到dào一yí个gè新xīn地方dìfang，难免nánmiǎn不bú适应shìyìng。过Guò一yì两liǎng个gè月yuè就jiù好hǎo了le。

    That's normal. When you're new somewhere, it's natural not to fit in at once. In a month or two it'll be fine.

  5. 安娜

    谢谢Xièxie你nǐ，我wǒ感觉gǎnjué好hǎo多duō了le。

    Thank you, I feel much better.

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 你是新手，难免会犯错。下次注意就行了。

    Nǐ shì xīnshǒu, nánmiǎn huì fàncuò. Xiàcì zhùyì jiù xíng le.

    You're new; mistakes are bound to happen. Just be careful next time.

  • 这很正常。刚到一个新地方，难免不适应。过一两个月就好了。

    Zhè hěn zhèngcháng. Gāng dào yí gè xīn dìfang, nánmiǎn bú shìyìng. Guò yì liǎng gè yuè jiù hǎo le.

    That's normal. When you're new somewhere, it's natural not to fit in at once. In a month or two it'll be fine.

  • 可是我每天都很紧张。

    Kěshì wǒ měitiān dōu hěn jǐnzhāng.

    But I'm nervous every day.

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 难免 mean?

    1. efficiency
    2. legend, it is said
    3. hard to avoid, bound to
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, hard to avoid, bound to.

    难免 (nánmiǎn) means hard to avoid, bound to.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “to make a mistake”?

    1. 新手
    2. 犯错
    3. 难免
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 犯错.

    “to make a mistake” is 犯错 (fàncuò).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 正常 (normal)?

    1. zhèngcháng
    2. zhéngcháng
    3. zhèngchàng
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, zhèngcháng.

    正常 is read zhèngcháng. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    新手 xīnshǒu

    1. short (in height)
    2. beginner, novice
    3. about the same, almost
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, beginner, novice.

    You heard 新手 (xīnshǒu): beginner, novice.

  5. Your turn

    Recall: type the Chinese for “hard to avoid, bound to” (characters or pinyin).

    Show the answer

    Answer: 难免

    “hard to avoid, bound to” is 难免 (nánmiǎn).

  6. Grammar

    Which sentence means Beginners are bound to be nervous?

    1. 新手难免会紧张。
    2. 新手难免紧张会。
    3. 难免新手会紧张。
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 新手难免会紧张。.

    新手难免会紧张。: 难免 + 会 + verb.

  7. Fill the gap

    Complete: That's completely normal.

    这很＿＿。

    1. 新手
    2. 犯错
    3. 正常
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 正常.

    正常: normal.

  8. In context

    A colleague apologises for a small mistake in her first week. What do you say?

    1. 刚开始难免会犯错，没关系。
    2. 你是新手，不能犯错。
    3. 你差点儿犯错。
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 刚开始难免会犯错，没关系。.

    刚开始难免会犯错，没关系。: 难免: bound to happen.

  9. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for to make a mistake

    Show the answer

    Answer: 犯错

    犯错: to make a mistake.

Reassure a newcomer

Reassure a new colleague out loud, in five sentences, with 难免.

  1. Their mistake is understandable.
  2. Their nerves are normal.
  3. Advice for next time.

Sentence frames

  • 刚开始＿＿，难免会＿＿。

    Gāng kāishǐ ＿＿, nánmiǎn huì ＿＿.

    When you've just started ..., you're bound to ...

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I use 难免 for things that are hard to avoid.
  • I can reassure someone about mistakes.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: I had no choice: 不得不