King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “necessarily”

Romaji: kanarazu
always; without exception; necessarily; certainly

In Japanese, necessarily is , read (kanarazu).

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. adv always; without exception; necessarily; certainly; without fail; positively

Kanji and stroke order

invariably, certain, inevitable
on: ヒツ
kun: かなら.ず
5 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “necessarily”

WordReadingMeaning
かならずしも kanarazushimo(not) always; (not) necessarily; (not) entirely
よぎなく yoginakuunavoidably; necessarily; inevitably
いきおい ikioinaturally; necessarily; inevitably
やむをえず yamuoezuunavoidably; inevitably; necessarily
あながち anagachi(not) necessarily; (not) entirely; (not) altogether

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ひつよう hitsuyounecessary; needed; essential
ひっし hisshifrantic; frenetic; desperate
かならずしも kanarazushimo(not) always; (not) necessarily; (not) entirely
ひっす hissuindispensable; essential; requisite
ひつぜん hitsuzeninevitable; necessary; certain

See also: Chinese symbol for “necessarily”.

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.