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必不可少

Mandarin · pinyin bì bù kě shǎo

absolutely necessary
indispensable
essential

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Characters in this entry

必: bì · surely, most certainly; must
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
少: shǎo · few, less, inadequate

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–3–3 · bi4 bu4 ke3 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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bit1 bat1 ho2 siu2

Cantonese word readings for 必不可少. 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) essential; indispensable

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

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