DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

必不可缺

Mandarin · pinyin bì bù kě quē

see 必不可少 bì bù kě shǎo

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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
缺: quē · be short of, lack; gap, deficit

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–3–1 · bi4 bu4 ke3 que1

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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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