須 — “Ought / By All Means / Necessarily” in Japanese

Master (高手)す, しゅ, すべから, すべし, ひげ, まつ, もち, もと

Radical ⾴ · radical 181 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Ought / By All Means / Necessarily” in Japanese is 須, read su, shu, subekara (す, しゅ, すべから, すべし, ひげ, まつ, もち, もと). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 必須 (indispensable).

Try it now

What does 須 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	須
Meaning	Ought / By All Means / Necessarily
Readings	す, しゅ, すべから, すべし, ひげ, まつ, もち, もと
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	必須 (indispensable)

How to read 須

須 is read su (す) or shu (しゅ) or subekara (すべから) or subeshi (すべし) or hige (ひげ) or matsu (まつ) or mochi (もち) or moto (もと) depending on the word.

Words with 須

必須

Learn 須 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Kanji read the same way as 須

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

Updated: 2026-08-28