必 — necessary / certain

Grade 4ひつ, かなら

Radical ⼼ · radical 61 The building block this kanji is filed under

必 (readings: ひつ, かなら; Japanese kanji) means “necessary / certain”. It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 必要 (necessary).

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What does 必 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	必
Meaning	necessary / certain
Readings	ひつ, かなら
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	必要 (necessary)

How to read 必

必 is read ひつ or かなら depending on the word.

Words with 必

必要ひつようcần thiết
必死ひっしliều mình / hết sức
必須bắt buộc

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Updated: 2026-08-09