缺一不可

quēyī-bùkě

idiom #47,241

Meanings

1 cannot do without a single one
2 every element is indispensable
3 all are required; none can be missing

Characters

to lack; be missing

acceptable; permissible

Examples

这三个条件缺一不可。

Zhè sān gè tiáojiàn quēyī-bùkě.

None of these three conditions can be missing.

德智体全面发展，缺一不可。

Dé zhì tǐ quánmiàn fāzhǎn, quēyī-bùkě.

Moral, intellectual, and physical development - not one can be left out.

配料和火候，缺一不可。

Pèiliào hé huǒhou, quēyī-bùkě.

Ingredients and heat control - neither can be skipped.

Tips

grammar

Usually sentence-final, summing up a list that came before: '(X, Y, Z), 缺一不可.' Not used in isolation; always refers back to a set of listed items.

history

From 《水浒传》 ch. 20: Lin Chong insists the strategist must join the council with 鼎分三足，缺一不可 - 'like a tripod with three legs, not one can be missing.' The tripod image is exactly right: take away any leg and the whole thing falls.

Stroke Order

缺 quē

一 yī

不 bù

可 kě