必

See also: 心

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order (Japan)

Han character

必 (Kangxi 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 Dictionary: page 375, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 10299
• Dae Jaweon: page 701, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2267, character 2
• Unihan data for U+5FC5

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		必

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 必
Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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

Likely a pictogram (象形) – weapon handle made of bamboo strips; the original character for 柲 (OC *priɡs, *bliːɡ, *priɡ, *bliɡ). The character was phonetically borrowed for the senses of "certainly" and "must".

Unrelated to 心, as bronze script makes clear, but in current form very similar.

Etymology

Etymology not clear (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bì (bi⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄧˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bit¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): pit
• Northern Min (KCR): bĭ
• Eastern Min (BUC): bék
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): pit

  (Teochew, Peng'im): big⁴

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁷piq

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bì
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄧˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bì
    • Wade–Giles: pi⁴
    • Yale: bì
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bih
    • Palladius: би (bi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: bit¹
    • Yale: bīt
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bit⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: bid¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /piːt̚⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: pit
    • Hakka Romanization System: bid`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: bid⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /pit̚²/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: bĭ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: bék
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɛiʔ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (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/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: big⁴
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: pik
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pik̚²/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁷piq
    • MiniDict: pih^入
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁴piq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /piɪʔ⁵⁵/

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• 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 (Hokkien)	/pit̚³²/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/pɛiʔ²³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/pi²⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/pik̚²/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/ʔbit̚⁵/

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• Middle Chinese: pjit

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
Baxter	pjit
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
Expected Cantonese Reflex	bat1

• 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

(deprecated template usage) 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.

3. (Southern Min) (of skin) to chap
4. (Southern Min) to crack

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (必):

• → Japanese: 必(ひつ) (hitsu)
• → Korean: 필(必) (pil)
• → Vietnamese: tất (必)

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

必

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. inevitably, certainly

Readings

• Go-on: ひち (hichi)
• Kan-on: ひつ (hitsu, Jōyō)
• Kun: かならず (kanarazu, 必ず, Jōyō)
• Nanori: さだ (sada); さだむ (sadamu)

Compounds

• 必(かなら)ず (kanarazu, “necessarily, certainly”)
• 必(かなら)ずしも (kanarazushimo, “not always”)
• 必携(ひっけい) (hikkei, “handbook, manual”)
• 必死(ひっし) (hisshi, “frantic, desperate”)
• 必需(ひつしゅ) (hitsushu, “necessary”)
• 必(ひつ)需品(しゅひん) (hitsushuhin, “necessities”)

• 必殺(ひっさつ) (hissatsu, “definite kill”)
• 必修(ひっしゅう) (hisshū, “required (subject)”)
• 必勝(ひっしょう) (hisshō, “certain victory”)
• 必須(ひっす) (hissu, “indispensable, required”)
• 必須(ひっす)条(しょう)件(けん) (hissu shōken, “essential condition”)
• 必(ひつ)然(ぜん) (hitsuzen, “inevitable, necessary”)
• 必(ひつ)然(ぜん)的(てき) (hitsuzenteki, “inevitable, necessary”)

• 必(ひっ)着(ちゃく) (hitchaku, “must arrive”)
• 必(ひつ)読(とく) (hitsutoku, “should be read by all”)
• 必(ひつ)要(よう) (hitsuyō, “necessity, need”)
• 必(ひつ)要(よう)性(せい) (hitsuyōsei, “necessity”)
• 必(ひつ)読(どく)書(しょ) (hitsudokusho, “required reading”)
• 不(ふ)必(ひつ)要(よう) (fuhitsuyō, “unnecessary”)
• 必死(ひっし)になって (hisshi ni natte, “desperately”)
• 必見(ひっけん) (hikken, “a must-see”)

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Korean

Hanja

必 (eumhun 반드시 필 (bandeusi pil))

1. Hanja form^? of 필 (“surely; certainly; without fail”).

Compounds

Compounds

• 필요 (必要, piryo)
• 필수 (必須, pilsu)
• 필승 (必勝, pilseung)
• 불필요 (不必要, bulpiryo)
• 필연 (必然, piryeon)
• 필수 (必修, pilsu)
• 기필 (期必, gipil)
• 필시 (必是, pilsi)
• 생필품 (生必品, saengpilpum)
• 미가필 (未可必, migapil)
• 필사 (必死, pilsa)
• 필요악 (必要惡, piryoak)
• 필패 (必敗, pilpae)
• 필독 (必讀, pildok)
• 필지 (必至, pilji)
• 불필 (不必, bulpil)
• 필살 (必殺, pilsal)
• 필연 (必然, piryeon)
• 필득 (必得, pildeuk)
• 필용 (必用, piryong)
• 필위 (必爲, pirwi)
• 필정 (必定, piljeong)
• 필중 (必中, piljung)
• 필지 (必知, pilji)
• 필착 (必着, pilchak)
• 필멸 (必滅, pilmyeol)
• 필벌 (必罰, pilbeol)
• 하필 (何必, hapil)
• 필멸 (必滅, pilmyeol)

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Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 必 (tất, ắt)

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