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少不了 (shǎo bu liǎo) — cannot do without; to need; to be inevitable; there are bound to be many

Definition

Two meanings: 'can't do without' (something is necessary) and 'bound to happen' (something is inevitable). Pairs with the HSK7 sibling 免不了, which leans toward the inevitable sense only.

verb
cannot do withoutto needto be inevitablethere are bound to be many

Examples

  • 少不了。
    Xué zhōng wén shǎo bu liǎo duō liàn xí.
    Learning Chinese cannot do without a lot of practice.
  • 少不了。
    Hūn lǐ shàng shǎo bu liǎo hěn duō hóng bāo.
    At a wedding, there are bound to be many red envelopes.
  • 少不了。
    Lǚ yóu de shí hou shǎo bu liǎo pāi zhào.
    When traveling, you inevitably take photos.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

少shǎolack
不了not able
不bùnot了liǎoable
偏正Modifier + head

少 means to be lacking, and 不了 says it cannot be avoided, so it means cannot do without.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 →

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

了 was once drawn to show a baby with no arms; some old comments say it showed crossed or tangled legs.

Open 了 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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