幸免 xìngmiǎn to avoid (an unpleasant fate)
How to remember 幸免: 幸 good fortune + 免 avoid = to avoid (an unpleasant fate).
Characters
How it is used
- To narrowly escape a disaster/bad fate - 无一幸免 (wú yī xìngmiǎn) not a single one was spared.
- Almost always in negative or near-miss contexts: 幸免于难 (xìngmiǎn yú nàn) to escape with one's life.
- Formal/written; you don't 幸免 something trivial - it's reserved for catastrophes.