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少不了

shǎobuliǎo
verb HSK 7 #19,081

Meanings

  1. 1 cannot do without
  2. 2 to be unavoidable
  3. 3 to be indispensable

Characters

少
shǎo
lack; be short of
不
bu
not
了
liǎo
able to (complement)
Literally 'cannot be lacking' — something is inevitable or indispensable.

Examples

学中文少不了多练习。
Xué Zhōngwén shǎobuliǎo duō liànxí.
Learning Chinese inevitably requires lots of practice.
过年少不了吃饺子。
Guònián shǎobuliǎo chī jiǎozi.
Eating dumplings is a must during Chinese New Year.

Tips

grammar
少不了 can be followed directly by a verb phrase: 少不了 + V. It functions as 'inevitably will' or 'can't avoid'.
usage
Opposite of 少得了. Compare with 免不了 which also means 'unavoidable' but focuses more on something undesirable.

Stroke Order

少 shǎo
不 bù
了 le