必

必 U+5FC5, 必 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5FC5 ← 忄 [U+5FC4] CJK Unified Ideographs 忆 → [U+5FC6]

See also: 心

Translingual

Stroke order

Japanese stroke order

Han character

必 (radical 61 心+1, 5 strokes, cangjie input 心竹 (PH), four-corner 3300₀, composition ⿻心丿)

Derived characters

• 宓 祕 秘 泌

References

• KangXi: page 375, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 10299
• Dae Jaweon: page 701, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 4, page 2267, character 2
• Unihan data for U+5FC5

---

Chinese

simp. and trad.		必

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 必
Bronze inscriptions	Large seal script	Small seal script

Characters in the same phonetic series (必) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
泌	*mpriɡs, *priɡ, *bliɡ
秘	*mpriɡs
毖	*priɡs
閟	*priɡs
柲	*priɡs, *bliːɡ, *priɡ, *bliɡ
鉍	*priɡs, *priɡ
邲	*priɡs, *bliɡ, *briɡ
覕	*pliŋs, *mbliːɡ
咇	*bliːɡ, *priɡ, *bliɡ
苾	*bliːɡ, *bliɡ
馝	*bliːɡ, *bliɡ
飶	*bliːɡ, *bliɡ
鴓	*mbliːɡ
鮅	*pliɡ, *bliɡ
必	*pliɡ
珌	*pliɡ
佖	*bliɡ, *briɡ
駜	*bliɡ, *briɡ
怭	*bliɡ
妼	*bliɡ
宓	*mriɡ, *mliɡ
樒	*mriɡ
密	*mriɡ
蔤	*mriɡ
滵	*mriɡ
蜜	*mliɡ
謐	*mliɡ
榓	*mliɡ
淧	*mliɡ
瑟	*smriɡ, *smriɡ
璱	*sriɡ
飋	*sriɡ
虙	*blɯɡ

Etymology unclear – an ideogram or pictogram of some sort. Unrelated to 心, as bronze script makes clear, but in current form very similar.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bì (bi⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄧˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bit¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): pit
• Min Dong (BUC): bék
• Min Nan (POJ): pit
• Wu (Wiktionary): piq (T4)

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
    • Pinyin: bì
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄧˋ
    • Wade-Giles: pih⁴
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bih
    • IPA ^(key): /pi⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: bit¹
    • Yale: bīt
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bit⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: bid¹
    • IPA ^(key): /piːt̚⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: pit
    • Hakka Romanization System: bid`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: bid⁵
    • IPA: /pit̚²/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: bék
    • IPA ^(key): /paiʔ²⁴/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pit
    • Tâi-lô: pit
    • Phofsit Daibuun: pid
    • IPA (Xiamen): /pit̚³²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /pit̚⁵/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /pit̚³²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /pit̚³²/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /pit̚³²/
• Wu
  • (Shanghainese)
    • Wiktionary: piq (T4)
    • IPA ^(key): /pi̯ɪʔ⁵⁵/

---

• Dialectal data▼

Variety	Location	edit 必
Mandarin	Beijing	/pi⁵¹/
	Harbin	/pi⁵³/
	Tianjin	/pi⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/pi⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/pi⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/pi⁴²/
	Xi'an	/pi²¹/
	Xining	/pji⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/pi¹³/
	Lanzhou	/pi¹³/
	Ürümqi	/pi²¹³/
	Wuhan	/pi²¹³/
	Chengdu	/pi³¹/
	Guiyang	/pi²¹/
	Kunming	/pi³¹/
	Nanjing	/piʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/piəʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/piəʔ²/
	Pingyao	/piʌʔ¹³/
	Hohhot	/piəʔ⁴³/
Wu	Shanghai	/piɪʔ⁵/
	Suzhou	/piəʔ⁵/
	Hangzhou	/piəʔ⁵/
	Wenzhou	/pi²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/piʔ²¹/
	Tunxi	/pi⁵/
Xiang	Changsha	/pi²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/pi²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/piʔ⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/pit̚¹/
	Taoyuan	/pit̚²²/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/pit̚⁵/
	Nanning	/pit̚⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/pit̚⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/pit̚³²/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/pɛiʔ²³/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/pi²⁴/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/pik̚²/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/ʔbit̚⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: /piɪt̚/▼

Rime
Character	必
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	質 (48)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	卑吉切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/piɪt̚/
Pan Wuyun	/pit̚/
Shao Rongfen	/pjet̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/pit̚/
Li Rong	/piĕt̚/
Wang Li	/pĭĕt̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/pi̯ĕt̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	bi

• Old Chinese▼

  (Baxter-Sagart): /*pi[t]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*pliɡ/

Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	必
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	bì
Middle Chinese	‹ pjit ›
Old Chinese	/*pi[t]/
English	necessarily
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter-Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	必
Reading #	1/1
No.	568
Phonetic component	必
Rime group	質
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	必
Old Chinese	/*pliɡ/

Definitions

必

1. surely; most certainly
2. must

   • 耶和華神對蛇說，你既作了這事，就必受咒詛，比一切的牲畜野獸更甚。你必用肚子行走，終身吃土。 [MSC, trad.]

     耶和华神对蛇说，你既作了这事，就必受咒诅，比一切的牲畜野兽更甚。你必用肚子行走，终身吃土。 [MSC, simp.]

     Yēhéhuá shén duì shé shuō, nǐ jì zuò le zhè shì, jiù bì shòu zhòuzǔ, bǐ yīqiè de shēngchù yěshòu gèng shèn. Nǐ bì yòng dùzi xíngzǒu, zhōngshēn chī tǔ. [Pinyin]

     And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed [must receive a curse] above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go [you must use your belly to go], and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.

Compounds

• 不必 (bùbì)
• 事在必行
• 事必躬親／事必躬亲
• 令出必行
• 何必 (hébì)
• 信賞必罰／信赏必罚
• 分秒必爭／分秒必争
• 剝極必復／剥极必复
• 務必／务必 (wùbì)
• 勢在必行／势在必行
• 勢必／势必 (shìbì)
• 勢所必然／势所必然
• 否極必泰／否极必泰
• 哀兵必勝／哀兵必胜 (āibīngbìshèng)
• 大可不必
• 安必思危
• 必不得已
• 必修 (bìxiū)
• 必修科
• 必備／必备 (bìbèi)
• 必剝／必剥
• 必定 (bìdìng)
• 必律律
• 必得 (bìděi)

• 必必剝剝／必必剥剥
• 必然 (bìrán)
• 必爭之地／必争之地
• 必經之路／必经之路
• 必若
• 必要 (bìyào)
• 必要條件／必要条件
• 必需 (bìxū)
• 必需品 (bìxūpǐn)
• 必須／必须 (bìxū)
• 志在必得
• 忘戰必危／忘战必危
• 想必 (xiǎngbì)
• 操刀必割
• 日中必彗
• 早名必折
• 是必
• 有求必應／有求必应
• 未必 (wèibì)
• 未必盡然／未必尽然
• 末大必折
• 每戰必勝／每战必胜
• 物極必反／物极必反 (wùjíbìfǎn)

• 理所必然
• 甘泉必竭
• 盈則必虧／盈则必亏
• 盛必慮衰／盛必虑衰
• 盛極必衰／盛极必衰
• 盛筵必散
• 直木必伐
• 睚眥必報／睚眦必报
• 知過必改／知过必改
• 若必
• 蘇必略湖／苏必略湖
• 言出必行
• 言多必失 (yánduōbìshī)
• 言必有中
• 言必有據／言必有据
• 諒必／谅必
• 遊必有方／游必有方
• 過盛必衰／过盛必衰
• 錙銖必較／锱铢必较
• 阿必尚
• 飛必沖天／飞必冲天
• 驕兵必敗／骄兵必败
• 驕者必敗／骄者必败

---

Japanese

Kanji

必

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. inevitably, certainly

Readings

• Goon: ひち (hichi)
• Kan’on: ひつ (hitsu)
• Kun: かならず (必ず, kanarazu)
• Nanori: さだ (sada), さだむ (sadamu)

Compounds

• 必ず (kanarazu): necessarily, certainly
• 必ずしも (kanarazushimo): not always
• 必携 (hikkei): handbook, manual
• 必死 (hisshi): frantic, desperate
• 必需 (hitsuju): necessary
• 必需品 (hitsujuhin): necessities

• 必殺 (hissatsu): definite kill
• 必修 (hisshū): required (subject)
• 必勝 (hisshō): certain victory
• 必須 (hissu): indispensable, required
• 必須条件 (hissu jōken): essential condition
• 必然 (hitsuzen): inevitable, necessary
• 必然的 (hitsuzenteki): inevitable, necessary

• 必着 (hitchaku): must arrive
• 必読 (hitsudoku): should be read by all
• 必要 (hitsuyō): necessity, need
• 必要性 (hitsuyōsei): necessity
• 必読書 (hitsudokusho): required reading
• 不必要 (fuhitsuyō): unnecessary
• 必死になって (hisshi ni natte): desperately
• 必見 (hikken): a must-see

---

Korean

Hanja

必 • (pil) (hangeul 필, revised pil, McCune-Reischauer p'il, Yale phil)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

---

Vietnamese

Han character

必 (tất, ắt)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.