naan4 min5難免难免
Jyutpingnaan4 min5
Yalenàahn míhn
Definition
Hard to avoid; inevitable or unavoidable.
colloquialdescriptionsother
How it's used
Use this to soften a statement when discussing negative outcomes or common human errors. It carries a sense of empathy or resignation, suggesting that a situation is a natural consequence rather than a personal failure. It is frequently paired with the particle 㗎 or 喇 to sound more conversational and less like a formal written essay.
Examples
It is unavoidable to feel nervous when doing something for the first time.
After they have spent a long time together, some friction is unavoidable.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this to describe physical obstacles or literal paths, as it is reserved for abstract situations, human behavior, or inevitable outcomes. It is not a direct substitute for the verb 避開 when talking about physically dodging an object.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
