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道Nihongo Path
須

須·ought, by all means, necessarily

On-yomi
すしゅ
Kun-yomi
すべから.くすべしひげまつもち.いるもと.める

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Stroke order

Write it in this order; the numbers mark where each stroke starts.

Common words

WordReadingMeaning
必須ひっすessential, indispensable
必須条件ひっすじょうけんessential condition, prerequisite
必須科目ひっすかもくcompulsory subject
急須きゅうすsmall teapot (for green tea)

Example sentences

  1. この仕事には英語が必須だ。

    このしごとにはえいごがひっすだ。

    English is essential for this job.

  2. 急須でお茶を入れてくれた。

    きゅうすでおちゃをいれてくれた。

    She made tea for me in a teapot.

  3. 必須科目の単位をまだ取っていない。

    ひっすかもくのたんいをまだとっていない。

    I still haven't earned the credits for the compulsory subjects.

Similar-looking kanji

Do not confuse these on the exam.

Common mistakes

  • Reading 必須 as ひつすう — the standard reading is ひっす (ひつじゅ is old and non-standard)
  • Treating すべからく as meaning 'all'; it means 'by all means, ought to' and pairs with べし

Memory aid

Picture it

彡 (strokes of hair) beside 頁 'head': the character once drew a beard, and now mainly does duty for the sound す.

Quick check

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What does the kanji 須 mean?