免疫

• Pinyin: miǎn yì
• Hanzi breakdown: 免 = pictograph of escaping/freeing — to be exempt; 疫 = 疒 (illness radical) + 役 (service, phonetic) — epidemic, plague

Meaning

Immunity; to be immune. The ability of an organism to resist infection or disease, or metaphorically to be unaffected by a negative influence.

Used in biology and medicine to describe the immune system's resistance to pathogens. Metaphorically extended to describe resistance to corruption, propaganda, manipulation, or emotional harm. The phrase 免疫力 (immune capacity/immunity) is very common in both medical and social commentary contexts.

Examples

1. 接种疫苗是通过人工手段激活人体免疫系统，使其在真正感染之前便产生对特定病原体的识别与抵御能力。 Vaccination activates the body’s immune system through medical intervention, so it can recognize and defend against specific pathogens before an actual infection occurs.
2. 长期接触大量虚假信息的人，往往会逐渐发展出一定的信息免疫能力，能够更敏锐地识别出操控性叙事的特征。 People exposed to large amounts of false information over a long period often gradually develop a kind of “information immunity,” becoming more sensitive to the telltale signs of manipulative narratives.
3. 免疫系统的紊乱不仅会削弱人体对外来病原体的防御，还可能引发自身免疫性疾病，使机体攻击自身正常组织。 Disorders of the immune system not only weaken the body’s defense against external pathogens but can also trigger autoimmune diseases, causing the body to attack its own healthy tissues.

Usage Guide

Context: medicine, biology, public health, social commentary

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 研究表明，长期高质量的睡眠、均衡的营养摄入以及适度的体育锻炼对于维持和增强人体免疫功能具有不可忽视的积极作用。(Research shows that long-term high-quality sleep, balanced nutritional intake, and moderate physical exercise have a non-negligible positive effect on maintaining and enhancing the body's immune function.)
• 批判性思维教育的核心目标之一，就是帮助学生建立对虚假信息和操控性话语的心理免疫能力，从而在复杂的信息环境中保持独立判断。(One of the core objectives of critical thinking education is to help students build a psychological immunity to false information and manipulative discourse, thereby maintaining independent judgement in a complex information environment.)

Don't Say

• 将'免疫'用于描述完全不受任何影响 — 免疫表示对特定威胁有抵抗力，并不意味着完全不受影响；如需表达某人对某事完全无感，应用'漠然''无动于衷'或'置若罔闻' (Do not use 免疫 to mean being completely unaffected by anything — 免疫 means having resistance to a specific threat, not being entirely unaffected; for total indifference, use 漠然, 无动于衷, or 置若罔闻)

Origin & History

免 (to be exempt/free from) + 疫 = 疒 (illness radical) + 役 (service/forced labour, phonetic) — epidemic, pestilence. Together: to be free from or exempt from epidemic disease.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal