预防

• Pinyin: yù fáng
• Hanzi breakdown: 预 = 予 (give) + 页 (page/head), meaning 'in advance'; 防 = 阝(阜) (mound) + 方 (direction), meaning 'to guard against'

Meaning

To prevent; to guard against; prevention. Taking measures in advance to stop something bad from happening.

Commonly used in health and safety contexts. Often appears in phrases like 预防疾病 (prevent disease), 预防措施 (preventive measures). Emphasizes proactive action rather than reactive response.

Examples

1. 洗手是预防疾病的好方法。 Washing hands is a good way to prevent disease.
2. 我们应该提前做好预防工作。 We should prepare prevention measures in advance.
3. 打疫苗可以预防很多传染病。 Vaccination can prevent many infectious diseases.

Usage Guide

Context: health, safety, medical

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 预防比治疗更重要。(Prevention is more important than treatment.)
• 我们要预防火灾的发生。(We must prevent fires from happening.)

Don't Say

• 我预防了那个人。(Don't use 预防 with a person as the object — it takes abstract nouns like diseases, disasters, or problems)

Origin & History

预 (in advance, beforehand) + 防 (to guard against, to prevent). Together: to guard against in advance.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal