Writing Balance Rule: The top crown part (a variant of 兔 without the dot) sits proudly over the sweeping bottom hook stroke, ensuring vertical alignment along the central axis.
1. Meaning
to exempt or excuse from something
to avoid or avertto remove or dismiss from officeto be prohibited or forbidden
VerbNeutral#law#official duties#action#permission
Sample Usage
免费
miǎn fèi
free of charge
避免
bì miǎn
to avoid; to prevent
2. Sound
/[mi̯än²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
免
miǎnmian3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=miǎn
Initial Consonant
m
Type: Bilabial Nasal
Sounds like: m sound as in 'mother'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Nasal resonance through nostrils.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together gently for the nasal bilabial, then opening.
Final Rhyme
ian
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: -ien / -yan sound
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yen'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: The 'i' acts as a high front glide leading into the open vowel 'a' and closing with 'n'.
Tone
T3 (214)
2 → 1 → 4 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 starts mid-high, dips low to the bottom of your vocal range, and climbs back up, mirroring an incredulous English 'Really?'
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3 syllable, miǎn changes to a Tone 2 (35) rising pitch.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse the low dipping tone 3 with tone 4; ensure the voice clearly dips before rising.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 3 dips down like a smiley face curve and rises back up. Trace a checkmark in the air: down to your chest and sweep up to the right.
3. Writing
Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 7 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The top crown part (a variant of 兔 without the dot) sits proudly over the sweeping bottom hook stroke, ensuring vertical alignment along the central axis.
4. Components
Radical刀 · Knife Radical (knife, cutting tool)
Semantic Clue (形旁):刀 (Indicates cutting off, removing, or cutting ties with obligations or duties.)
Imagine a person wearing a helmet or head covering (top part) facing a knife or cutting edge (bottom 刀), needing to be excused or exempted from harm.
𠂊 lid or head shape
刀 knife or cutting tool
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
10· Phonetic Root: 免 (miǎn)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally depicted a person or headgear with a sharp object or knife nearby, suggesting escaping danger or being released from restraint.
Semantic Evolution: Shifted from escaping physical danger or removal by force to general legal or administrative exemption ('to excuse', 'to exempt'), and further to prevention ('to avoid').
In ancient times, it was heavily associated with being relieved of military service or official punishment.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
miễn
Both use a dipping/broken rising quality matching the concept of exemption.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: メン (men) / Kun: まぬが.れる (manugareru)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
면
Sound Shift Bridge: Shares root abstract semantics across East Asian jurisdictions dealing with tax and legal exemptions.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
To be EXEMPT (miǎn) from military service, you use a KNIFE (刀) to cut off your top hair crown, proving you are excused!
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
晚
wǎneveningAdds the sun radical (日) on the left for evening time.
挽
wǎnto draw, to pullAdds the hand radical (扌) on the left for pulling actions.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
兔(tù)
兔 has a little dot inside the bottom enclosure representing a rabbit's tail, whereas 免 has a straight slash and a knife (刀) underneath without the tail dot.
晚(wǎn)
晚 has the sun (日) component, whereas 免 stands alone without a sun.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
为了[___]感冒，我们应该多锻炼身体。
Clue: bì miǎn
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the top element with the character for rabbit (兔) by accidentally adding a dot inside.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 免 mean when you see it in 免费 (miǎnfèi)?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to exempt / to avoid' (miǎn)?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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免miǎnto excuse, to exempt, to avoid
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