Hedging: 似乎, 未必, 不见得, 恐怕, 难免, 不至于, 想必
How sure are you? The words that soften a claim, doubt it, predict trouble or rule out the worst.
Part of the free C1 Chinese course (about HSK 6 and above). Examples are in Simplified characters, with pinyin only for some new or hard words; press the speaker to hear one with your device's Chinese voice.
Saying how sure you are
Fluent speakers rarely state everything as a hard fact. They hedge: they show how certain they are. Chinese has a set of adverbs for this, each with its own shade.
| Word | Shade | English | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| 似乎 (sìhū) | it seems | apparently, seemingly | written, neutral (spoken: 好像) |
| 未必 (wèibì) | not necessarily | may not | written, neutral |
| 不见得 (bú jiànde) | not necessarily | I doubt it | spoken |
| 恐怕 (kǒngpà) | I'm afraid, probably | (often unwelcome news) | both |
| 难免 (nánmiǎn) | hard to avoid | bound to, inevitably | both |
| 不至于 (bú zhìyú) | won't go that far | it won't come to | both |
| 想必 (xiǎngbì) | presumably | surely, I imagine | written, polite |
- 他似乎不太高兴。He seems a little unhappy.
- 贵的东西未必好。Expensive things aren't necessarily good.
- 他说的不见得是真的。What he says isn't necessarily true.
- 恐怕今天来不及了。I'm afraid we won't make it today.
- 第一次做饭，难免会出错。The first time you cook, you're bound to make mistakes.
- 他虽然生气，但还不至于不理你。He's angry, but not to the point of ignoring you.
- 你想必已经听说了这个消息。You've presumably heard the news already.
Points to watch
- 未必 and 不见得 mean "not necessarily", not "not". 贵的未必好 leaves room for some expensive things being good.
- 恐怕 is an adverb of estimation: 恐怕要下雨了. To be afraid of something is 怕 or 害怕.
- 难免 says something is natural and forgivable: 难免会紧张. It often takes 会.
- 不至于 is followed by an extreme or bad outcome that you rule out: 不至于失败, 不至于生病.
- 想必 infers something about another person or the situation, politely.
Hedging is also politeness. 恐怕不行 is a softer "no" than 不行, and 未必 disagrees without contradicting.
Common mistakes
我恐怕狗。→ 我怕狗。恐怕 is "I'm afraid (that)…", not "to fear".他学习很努力，不至于考得很好。→ 他学习很努力，不至于考不及格。不至于 rules out a bad outcome, not a good one.- Reading 未必 as "certainly not": 这个办法未必行 means it might not work, not that it can't.
我想必很累。→ 我很累 or 你想必很累。You know your own state: 想必 guesses about someone else.
Practice
- 贵的东西_____好。Options: 未必 · 不至于 · 难免
Show the answer
未必 — 未必 = not necessarily.
- Which sentence means 'I'm afraid of dogs'?Options: 我怕狗。 · 我恐怕狗。 · 狗恐怕我。
Show the answer
我怕狗。 — 恐怕 is an adverb of estimation; 'to fear' is 怕.
- Add the two-character word for 'it's hard to avoid': 第一次上台，_____会紧张。
Show the answer
难免
- 他只是有点儿生气，还_____不理你。Options: 不至于 · 未必 · 似乎
Show the answer
不至于 — 不至于 rules out the extreme outcome.
In the app, this lesson is taught one idea at a time with the examples read aloud, followed by questions you can answer in characters or pinyin. It then comes back for review on later days, until you've answered it correctly on three separate days.