不可缺少

Mandarin · pinyin bù kě quē shǎo

Meanings

  1. indispensable
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Characters in this entry

不
bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
可
kě · may, can, -able; possibly
缺
quē · be short of, lack; gap, deficit
少
shǎo · few, less, inadequate
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–3–1–3 · bu4 ke3 que1 shao3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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