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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

必

bì
surely; most certainly; always; invariably
  • pictogram
  • HSK 5
  • TOCFL 7
  • radical 心
  • 5 strokes

Etymology graph

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  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
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Origin

Likely a pictogram (象形) – the handle (⿻⿺㇂丶丿) found on the right hand side of weapons such as 戊 or 戈 or 戉 written stand-alone. Two decorative strokes were then added to the sides.

Jiajie (假借) - The character was subsequently borrowed for a near-homophone meaning "must", and the original meaning came to be represented by 柲 (OC *priɡs, *bliːɡ, *priɡ, *bliɡ).

Unrelated to 心, as bronze script makes clear, but in current form very similar.

Unclear (Schuessler, 2007).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

Words built on it: 不必, 必要, 必然, 未必, 必須

Meanings

character
  1. surely; most certainly; always; invariably
  2. must; have to; shall
  3. conjunction indicating the condition of a concession or exception, especially a hypothetical or implied one
  4. to crack
  5. to chap (of skin)
  6. crowded; packed; congested

Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字

必：分極也。从八、弋，弋亦聲。

Xu Shen, c. 100 CE — the first analytical dictionary of Chinese characters.

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 一定、肯定。 例：行善必有福，為惡必自斃。
  2. 一定要。 例：立志必堅，行事必恆。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 必 was written 字形演變

  1. 必 in Oracle bone script
    Oracle bone
    甲骨文
    Shang, c. 1250–1050 BCE
  2. 必 in Bronze script
    Bronze
    金文
    Shang–Zhou
  3. 必 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  4. 必 in Qin slips script
    Qin slips
    秦系簡牘
    Qin
  5. 必 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  6. 必 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • 說文解字 Shuowen Jiezi (Xu Shen, c. 100 CE) — Public domain
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 必