King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “compulsory”

Romaji: hissu
indispensable; essential; requisite; required

In Japanese, compulsory is , read (hissu).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

  1. adj-na, adj-no, n indispensable; essential; requisite; required; compulsory; necessary

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

invariably, certain, inevitable
on: ヒツ
kun: かなら.ず
5 strokes · JLPT 2
ought, by all means, necessarily
on: ス、シュ
kun: すべから.く、すべし、ひげ、まつ
12 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “compulsory”

WordReadingMeaning
むり muriforcible; forced; compulsory
きてい kiteicompulsory exercise (in gymnastics); compulsory routine; compulsory dance (figure skating)
ぎむてき gimutekicompulsory; obligatory; mandatory
いやおうなし iyaounashicompulsory; unavoidable; necessary
きょうせいてき kyouseitekiforced; compulsory

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ひつよう hitsuyounecessary; needed; essential
かならず kanarazualways; without exception; necessarily
ひっし hisshifrantic; frenetic; desperate
かならずしも kanarazushimo(not) always; (not) necessarily; (not) entirely
ひつぜん hitsuzeninevitable; necessary; certain
きゅうす kyuususmall teapot
ごす gosugosu porcelain
しゅゆ shuyumoment; instant; short amount of time

See also: Chinese symbol for “compulsory”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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