少不了 shǎobuliǎo cannot do without
cannot do without; to be unavoidable; are bound to be many
How to remember 少不了: 少 few + 不 not + 了 particle: completed action / change of state = cannot do without.
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How it is used
- Can't do without / is bound to happen - 聚会上少不了美食 (jùhuì shàng shǎobuliǎo měishí) no party is complete without good food.
- Two shades: 'indispensable' (can't lack it) and 'inevitably there'll be' (少不了一番争吵 there's bound to be some quarreling).
- Note 少 here reads shǎo; the opposite 免不了 (miǎnbuliǎo) overlaps in the 'unavoidable' sense.