预防 (yùfáng) — to prevent; prevention
HSK 5 | verb/noun | to take action in advance to stop something harmful from occurring
预防 (yùfáng)
预防 means to take preventive measures against something harmful before it occurs, and is widely used in medicine, public health, safety, and policy contexts at B2 level.
Meanings
- [verb] to prevent; to take precautions against; to guard against
- [noun] prevention; precaution
Example Sentences
定期体检有助于预防疾病的发生，做到早发现早治疗。 Dìngqī tǐjiǎn yǒuzhù yú yùfáng jíbìng de fāshēng, zuòdào zǎo fāxiàn zǎo zhìliáo. Regular physical examinations help prevent the occurrence of disease, enabling early detection and early treatment.
政府推出了一系列预防措施以遏制传染病的扩散。 Zhèngfǔ tuīchūle yī xìliè yùfáng cuòshī yǐ èzhì chuánrǎnbìng de kuòsàn. The government introduced a series of prevention measures to contain the spread of infectious diseases.
学校定期开展安全教育，帮助学生预防各类事故。 Xuéxiào dìngqī kāizhǎn ānquán jiàoyù, bāngzhù xuéshēng yùfáng gè lèi shìgù. Schools regularly carry out safety education to help students prevent all kinds of accidents.
预防腐败比惩治腐败更为根本和有效。 Yùfáng fǔbài bǐ chéngzhì fǔbài gèng wéi gēnběn hé yǒuxiào. Preventing corruption is more fundamental and effective than punishing it after the fact.
接种疫苗是预防传染病最经济、最有效的手段之一。 Jiēzhòng yìmiáo shì yùfáng chuánrǎnbìng zuì jīngjì, zuì yǒuxiào de shǒuduàn zhī yī. Vaccination is one of the most economical and effective means of preventing infectious diseases.
加强网络安全意识是预防网络诈骗的最佳途径。 Jiāqiáng wǎngluò ānquán yìshí shì yùfáng wǎngluò zhàpiàn de zuìjiā tújìng. Strengthening cybersecurity awareness is the best way to prevent online fraud.
Collocations
| Collocation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 预防措施 (yùfáng cuòshī) | prevention measures |
| 预防疾病 (yùfáng jíbìng) | prevent disease |
| 预防为主 (yùfáng wéi zhǔ) | prevention first |
| 疾病预防 (jíbìng yùfáng) | disease prevention |
| 预防犯罪 (yùfáng fànzuì) | crime prevention |
| 有效预防 (yǒuxiào yùfáng) | effectively prevent |
Usage Notes
预防 is forward-looking -- it always refers to actions taken before a harmful event to stop it from happening. The Chinese public health principle 预防为主 (prevention first) is a guiding slogan of healthcare policy. Compare with 防止 (fángzhǐ, to prevent/guard against), which can be used in a wider range of contexts but is slightly less specific about the advance-planning aspect.
At B2, the pattern 预防...的发生 (to prevent the occurrence of...) and the compound 预防措施 (prevention measures) are the most important structures to master.
Memory Hook
预 (in advance/before) + 防 (to guard/defend) = to defend and guard in advance.