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必不可少 (bì bù kě shǎo) — absolutely necessary, indispensable, essential

Definition

A fixed phrase meaning 'absolutely necessary' — stronger than 必要 ('necessary') and 必需 ('must have'). Use it as a predicate or before 的 to modify a noun (e.g. 必不可少的工具).

phrase
absolutely necessaryindispensableessential

Examples

  • ，必不可少。
    Zài chuàng yè guò chéng zhōng, zī jīn shì bì bù kě shǎo de.
    In the entrepreneurial process, capital is indispensable.
  • 必不可少。
    Dì tú shì lǚ xíng bì bù kě shǎo de gōng jù.
    A map is an essential tool for travel.
  • 必不可少，。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù bìng bú bì bù kě shǎo, kě yǐ tuī chí.
    This project is not absolutely necessary; it can be postponed.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 必 comes from the handle on the right side of a weapon, with two extra strokes added to its sides.

Open 必 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 少 is drawn as four dots, perhaps three grains of sand, to indicate a few or a little.

Open 少 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesGood & Bad

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