King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “imperative”

Romaji: kyuumu
urgent business; pressing need; imperative

In Japanese, imperative is , read (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

  1. n urgent business; pressing need; imperative

Kanji and stroke order

hurry, emergency, sudden
on: キュウ
kun: いそ.ぐ、いそ.ぎ、せ.く
9 strokes · JLPT 3
task, duties
on: ム
kun: つと.める
11 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “imperative”

WordReadingMeaning
めいれいがた meireigataimperative
かかせない kakasenaiindispensable; vital; fundamental

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
きんきゅう kinkyuuurgency; emergency
きゅうそく kyuusokurapid (e.g. progress)
きゅうげき kyuugekisudden; abrupt; rapid
とっきゅう tokkyuulimited express (train for which a limited-express ticket is required)
きゅうきょ kyuukyohurriedly; in a hurry; hastily
きゅうぞう kyuuzourapid increase; sharp rise; proliferation
じむしょ jimushooffice
じむ jimuoffice 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.

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