缺 一 不 可

quē yī bù kědictionary entry

not a single one is dispensable / can't do without either

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-3b730c74438f2b4a. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

缺一不可缺一不可 [que1 yi1 bu4 ke3] /not a single one is dispensable/can't do without either/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

缺
quē
deficiency / lack / scarce / vacant post / to run short of
一
yī
one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
不
bù
no / not so / (bound form) not / un-
可
kě
(prefix) can / may / able to / -able / to approve / to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly / very / but / however
kè
used in 可汗[kè hán]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.