How to Write 避 (bì) — Meaning “to avoid / to shun / to escape”

Imagine a person (尸) stepping away quickly with feet (辶) from a spicy (辛) dish they want to avoid. The combination of the spicy symbol and the walking radical helps you recall that 避 means 'to avoid' or 'to escape'.

Write the inner part 辟 first: start with 尸 (left to right), then 口, then 辛, and finally add the walk radical 辶 at the bottom. A common mistake is writing 辶 too early or making the 辶 too small—remember that 辶 supports the entire character from below.

避 means 'to avoid' something proactively, while 遭 means 'to encounter' something (usually bad) and 遮 means 'to cover' or 'to block'. Visually, 避 uses 辟 inside, 遭 uses 曹 (a phonetic), and 遮 uses 庶 (meaning 'many'). In usage, you 避 danger, 遭 disaster, and 遮 sunlight.

避 appears in words like 避免 (to avoid something), 避暑 (to escape summer heat, often by going to a resort), and 逃避 (to evade responsibility). A cultural note: in Chinese summer, 避暑 is a common practice where families travel to cooler mountain or seaside areas.

Common words containing 避 include: 避免 (bì miǎn) — to avoid / to prevent; 避暑 (bì shǔ) — to escape the summer heat / to go to a summer resort; 逃避 (táo bì) — to evade; to avoid; to shirk.