“未免”：委婉的批评
未免 softens a criticism: “that is rather too…”. It is almost always followed by 太, 有点儿 or 过于 and a negative judgement. It is easily confused with 难免, which means “hard to avoid” and carries no criticism.
结构
主语 + 未免 + 太／有点儿／过于 + 形容词／动词短语
讲解
本文中的中文词语都可以激活，查看词典释义。
expresses the speaker’s view that something goes a little beyond what is reasonable, and says so politely. Literally “cannot avoid being”, it works as “rather, a bit too”: “Putting it that way is rather rude.” ，.
The judgement after is negative, and in practice it is nearly always introduced by , or . A positive adjective cannot follow it: is an error, because there is nothing to criticise.
is the word learners confuse it with. says something is hard to avoid and therefore understandable — it excuses rather than criticises: ， “When you first learn to drive, it’s natural to be nervous.” is close to and describes a reaction one cannot help: ，. If the speaker is finding fault, the word is ; if the speaker is saying “that’s only to be expected”, it is .
The pattern is common in comments and reviews and pairs well with an explicit standard: ，.
正确
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
你这样说未免太不客气了。你這樣說未免太不客氣了。
Nǐ (third tone, dipping) zhèyàng (fourth tone, falling) shuō (first tone, high and level) wèimiǎn (fourth tone, falling) tài (fourth tone, falling) bú (second tone, rising) kèqi (fourth tone, falling) le. (neutral tone)···
Putting it that way is rather rude.
一个人点这么多菜，未免有点儿浪费。一個人點這麼多菜，未免有點兒浪費。
Yí (second tone, rising) ge (neutral tone) rén (second tone, rising) diǎn (third tone, dipping) zhème (fourth tone, falling) duō (first tone, high and level) cài, (fourth tone, falling) wèimiǎn (fourth tone, falling) yǒudiǎnr (third tone, dipping) làngfèi. (fourth tone, falling)···
Ordering this many dishes for one person is a bit wasteful.
才学了一个月就想通过六级考试，未免太着急了。才學了一個月就想通過六級考試，未免太著急了。
Cái (second tone, rising) xué (second tone, rising) le (neutral tone) yí (second tone, rising) ge (neutral tone) yuè (fourth tone, falling) jiù (fourth tone, falling) xiǎng (third tone, dipping) tōngguò (first tone, high and level) liù (fourth tone, falling) jí (second tone, rising) kǎoshì, (third tone, dipping) wèimiǎn (fourth tone, falling) tài (fourth tone, falling) zháojí (second tone, rising) le. (neutral tone)···
Wanting to pass the level 6 exam after one month of study is rather impatient.
错误 — 常见错误
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 你这样做未免很好。
正确
Correct sentence: 你这样做未免太着急了。
为什么: 未免 introduces a criticism. It cannot be followed by praise.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 刚开始学开车，未免会紧张。
正确
Correct sentence: 刚开始学开车，难免会紧张。
为什么: Being nervous at first is natural, not a fault. “Hard to avoid” is 难免.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 这个价格未免贵。
正确
Correct sentence: 这个价格未免太高了。
为什么: 未免 is normally followed by 太, 有点儿 or 过于. Note also that 价格 is 高, not 贵.
对比
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
有点儿 already carries a hint of complaint (有点儿贵 “a bit too expensive”). 未免 makes that complaint explicit and a little more formal, and the two combine naturally: 未免有点儿浪费. Using 未免 signals that the speaker is passing judgement, not merely describing.
有点儿 or 一点儿: a bit too much, or a bit less →小测验
第 1 题 / 3总分: 0
Choose the word for the gap.
第一次上台表演，___ 会有点儿紧张，这很正常。