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Kanji Detail for 必 - "certain, must"

必

  • Meaning

    必 means "certain, must." Also associated with definitely.

    1. Certain - Without doubt; sure.

    2. Must - Necessary; required.

    3. Definitely - Absolutely; certainly.

  • Words using 必

    • 必要 ひつよう Listen necessary; needed; essential
    • 必ず かならず Listen always; without exception; necessarily
    • 必要性 ひつようせい Listen necessity; need
    • 必死 ひっし Listen frantic; frenetic; desperate
    • 必ずしも かならずしも Listen (not) always; (not) necessarily; (not) entirely
    • 必着 ひっちゃく Listen must arrive (no later than; e.g. of an application); must be received; must be delivered
    • 必需 ひつじゅ Listen necessary
    • 不必要 ふひつよう Listen unnecessary; needless

  • Four-character idioms with 必

    • 一発必中 いっぱつひっちゅう Listen success on the first try (attempt)
    • 信賞必罰 しんしょうひつばつ Listen rewards and punishments; rewarding good conduct and punishing evildoing
    • 先手必勝 せんてひっしょう Listen victory goes to the one who makes the first move; being quick to take action leads to victory; the early bird gets the worm
    • 生者必滅 しょうじゃひつめつ Listen all living things must die
    • 盛者必衰 じょうしゃひっすい Listen even the prosperous inevitably decay; sic transit gloria mundi; all that's fair must fade
    • 驕兵必敗 きょうへいひっぱい Listen defeat is inevitable for an overconfident army; being arrogant and overconfident inevitably leads to defeat; pride comes before a fall

  • Tattoo check: 必

    • Verified meaning: certain, must
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read あきら)
    • Also carries these associations: definitely

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 必

    Given names 必(あきら)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    invariably; certain; inevitable

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    surely, most certainly; must

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    certainly; must; will; necessarily

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    surely, certainly; must; will

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    A definite word. Such as 必然, meaning "certainly." | Expecting with certainty. Hoping with fixed ideas. (Analects) "No arbitrariness, no certainty." | Definitely. Such as 信賞必罰, meaning rewarding merit and punishing wrongs without fail.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    hitsu(ヒツ) ヒツ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    kanara.zu(かなら-ず) かなら-ず

  • Strokes

    tip

    5 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    心 忄 (kokoro・shitagokoro・risshimben)

  • Related Keywords

    certain must definitely absolutely no matter what unquestionably necessary essential critical crucial fundamental imperative indispensable mandatory obligatory required requisite sure vital

Sentences including 必

  • You need not answer the letter.

  • You don't have to work on sundays.

  • He needs to answer the question.

  • You don't have to pay attention to what he says.

  • The company was in want of money.

  • You cannot read this novel without crying.

  • I must put my ideas together before i take up a pen.

  • You don't have to hurry.

  • There's no need to speak so loud.

  • I'll do it by all means.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 心 忄 (kokoro・shitagokoro・risshimben)

See all kanji with this radical →

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