必 — “necessary / certain” in Japanese

Grade 4ひつ, かなら

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

“necessary / certain” in Japanese is 必, read hitsu, kanara (ひつ, かなら). 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 hitsu (ひつ) or kanara (かなら) depending on the word.

Words with 必

必要ひつよう
必死ひっし
必須

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Kanji read the same way as 必

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

筆ひつ writing brush

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Updated: 2026-08-28