Word
必然
Meaning in Englishinevitable, necessary
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
必然 means inevitability or necessity; it denotes that something will occur as a necessary consequence given conditions, rather than by chance.
Main meanings
- inevitability — hitsuzen
- necessity or unavoidable outcome — hitsuzensei
- the adjective form 必然的 meaning 'inevitable' — hitsuzenteki
- opposite or contrasting idea: 偶然 (guuzen) meaning coincidence or chance
How to use it
Used as a noun to express inevitability; in formal, philosophical, and analytical contexts it signals that a result is determined by conditions and not by random chance; can be followed by の, だ, or used in phrases with -性 or -的 to form related terms; in everyday speech it can appear when people feel a situation is unavoidable.
Variants and close terms
- 必然性 — hitsuzensei (inevitability)
- 必然的 — hitsuzenteki (inevitable)
- 偶然 — guuzen (coincidence, chance)
- 当然 — tozen (natural, of course)
Composition
- 必: must, certain; expresses necessity
- 然: thus, so; indicates a state or consequence
Word class
Noun/na-adjective (na-adjective)