Japanese symbol for “inevitability”

必然

ひつぜん

Romaji: hitsuzen

inevitable; necessary; certain; sure

In Japanese, inevitability is 必然, read ひつぜん (hitsuzen).

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

adj-na, adj-no inevitable; necessary; certain; sure
n inevitability; necessity

Kanji and stroke order

必

invariably, certain, inevitable

on: ヒツ
kun: かなら.ず

5 strokes · JLPT 2

然

sort of thing, so, if so

on: ゼン、ネン
kun: しか、しか.り、しか.し、さ

12 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “inevitability”

Word	Reading	Meaning
不可抗力	ふかこうりょく fukakouryoku	act of God; irresistible force; inevitability
必然性	ひつぜんせい hitsuzensei	necessity; inevitability

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
必要	ひつよう hitsuyou	necessary; needed; essential
必ず	かならず kanarazu	always; without exception; necessarily
必死	ひっし hisshi	frantic; frenetic; desperate
必ずしも	かならずしも kanarazushimo	(not) always; (not) necessarily; (not) entirely
必須	ひっす hissu	indispensable; essential; requisite
自然	しぜん shizen	nature
当然	とうぜん touzen	natural; right; proper
全然	ぜんぜん zenzen	(not) at all; (not) in the slightest

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.