Japanese symbol for “imperative”
急務
きゅうむ
Romaji: kyuumu
urgent business; pressing need; imperative
In Japanese, imperative is 急務, read きゅうむ (kyuumu).
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
- n urgent business; pressing need; imperative
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “imperative”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 命令型 | めいれいがた meireigata | imperative |
| 欠かせない | かかせない kakasenai | indispensable; vital; fundamental |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 緊急 | きんきゅう kinkyuu | urgency; emergency |
| 急速 | きゅうそく kyuusoku | rapid (e.g. progress) |
| 急激 | きゅうげき kyuugeki | sudden; abrupt; rapid |
| 特急 | とっきゅう tokkyuu | limited express (train for which a limited-express ticket is required) |
| 急遽 | きゅうきょ kyuukyo | hurriedly; in a hurry; hastily |
| 急増 | きゅうぞう kyuuzou | rapid increase; sharp rise; proliferation |
| 事務所 | じむしょ jimusho | office |
| 事務 | じむ jimu | office work; clerical work; administration |
See also: Chinese symbol for “imperative”.
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.