# 必 — certainly; necessarily

必 means “certainly; necessarily”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 5 strokes. On'yomi: ヒツ (hitsu). Kun'yomi: かなら(ず) (kanarazu). You'll see it in words such as 必ず (kanarazu, “always; without exception”).

- Meaning: certainly; necessarily
- On'yomi: ヒツ (hitsu)
- Kun'yomi: かなら(ず) (kanarazu)
- Strokes: 5
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Qualities 2

## How to remember 必

A heart (心) with a slash (丿) through it: certain, no way around it.

Parts: 心 heart · 丿 slash

## Words with 必

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 必ず | かならず (kanarazu) | always; without exception |
| 必ずしも | かならずしも (kanarazushimo) | not always; not necessarily |

## Don't confuse it with

[泌](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/ooze/)

## More in the “Qualities 2” set

[容](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/contain/) · [必](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/certainly/) · [能](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/ability/) · [無](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/nothing/) · [状](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/condition/) · [可](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/possible/) · [難](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/difficult/) · [優](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/superior/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/certainly/. Last updated 2026-11-01.