免除

• Pinyin: miǎn chú
• Hanzi breakdown: 免 = pictograph of escaping/freeing — exempt, avoid; 除 = 阜 (steps/mound) + 余 (surplus) — to remove, dismiss, eliminate

Meaning

To exempt from; to waive; to relieve of. To formally remove an obligation, penalty, responsibility, or duty from a person or entity.

A formal verb used in legal, administrative, and official contexts. 免除 often takes an object that is an obligation (义务), punishment (处罚), debt (债务), or responsibility (责任). It implies an authoritative decision to relieve someone of something they would otherwise be bound to. Distinct from 避免 (to avoid) in that 免除 requires an external authority granting the exemption.

Examples

1. 法院判决认定被告在案发时精神状态存在严重缺陷，依法对其免除了刑事处罚，但民事赔偿责任仍须承担。 The court ruled that the defendant had a serious mental impairment at the time of the incident and, in accordance with the law, exempted him from criminal punishment, though he still must bear civil liability for compensation.
2. 根据国际惯例，外交人员在驻在国享有一定程度的豁免权，可免除部分法律管辖与税务义务。 Under international practice, diplomatic personnel in a host country enjoy a certain degree of immunity and may be exempt from some legal jurisdiction and tax obligations.
3. 公司董事会决定免除首席财务官的职务，并启动内部审计程序以查清账目异常的原因。 The company’s board decided to remove the chief financial officer from the position and launched an internal audit to determine the cause of the accounting irregularities.

Usage Guide

Context: law, government, administration, diplomacy, finance

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 该国政府宣布对受灾严重地区的农民免除当年的农业税，以减轻自然灾害对当地经济造成的冲击。(The government announced the exemption of agricultural taxes for the year for farmers in severely disaster-affected areas, to cushion the economic impact of the natural disaster on the local economy.)
• 仲裁委员会在审查全部证据后，裁定免除被申请人的违约赔偿责任，理由是合同中的不可抗力条款已被合法触发。(After reviewing all evidence, the arbitration committee ruled to exempt the respondent from liability for breach of contract on the grounds that the force majeure clause in the contract had been lawfully triggered.)

Don't Say

• 将'免除'与'撤销'或'取消'混用 — 免除特指解除当事人对某项义务或职责的约束，而'撤销'通常指废除决定或文件，'取消'指撤消计划或事项，三者适用对象不同 (Do not confuse 免除 with 撤销 or 取消 — 免除 specifically means releasing a party from an obligation or duty; 撤销 usually means revoking a decision or document; 取消 means cancelling a plan or event — the three apply to different objects)

Origin & History

免 (to be exempt, to avoid) + 除 = 阜 (mound/steps radical) + 余 (surplus/remainder) — to remove, to eliminate, to dismiss. Together: to formally remove or relieve someone of an obligation or position.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal