未免

• Pinyin: wèi miǎn
• Hanzi breakdown: 未 (not, rather); 免 = 儿 + 刀 + 口 (exempt, avoid)

Meaning

Rather; somewhat; a bit (too). An adverb used to express that something is slightly excessive or goes a bit too far, often with a mild critical or disapproving nuance.

Always implies the speaker finds something unreasonable or overdone. Compare with 不免 (unavoidably — neutral tone) and 难免 (hard to avoid — resigned tone); 未免 alone carries a tone of mild criticism or understatement.

Examples

1. 你这样要求也未免太苛刻了吧。 Isn't that request a bit too harsh?
2. 他的反应未免有些过激。 His reaction was a bit extreme.
3. 这个价格未免定得太高，消费者难以接受。 That price is a bit too high for consumers to accept.

Usage Guide

Context: conversation, writing, critique

Tone: critical

Do Say

• 只因一点小事就大发雷霆，未免有些小题大做。(Flying into a rage over such a trivial matter is going a bit too far.)
• 这条规定未免过于死板，缺乏应有的灵活性。(This rule is somewhat too rigid and lacks the flexibility it should have.)

Don't Say

• 未免我就不去了 — 未免 cannot be used as a reason or conjunction; use 既然如此，我就不去了 or 干脆不去了 to express a decision based on circumstances

Origin & History

未 (not) + 免 (avoid, exempt) — 'one cannot avoid saying it is somewhat excessive'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal