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少不了

Mandarin · pinyin shǎo bu liǎo

cannot do without
to be unavoidable
are bound to be many

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Characters in this entry

少: shǎo · few, less, inadequate
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
了: le · to finish; particle of completed action

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–5–3 · shao3 bu5 liao3

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

siu2 bat1 liu5

Cantonese word readings for 少不了. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to be required
to be indispensible

adj

(litotes) not missing

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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