必需品
ひつじゅひん · hitsujuhin · JLPT N2 · noun
necessities
🍞💧 必 must + 需 need + 品 goods: goods you must need
Read it as 必 (must) + 需 (need) + 品 (goods). Bread, water and medicine are things you absolutely must need, so they count as necessities.
必 — heart 心 + slash 丿
Originally depicted a handle or marker driven through something, suggesting a fixed standard. The form was later reanalyzed as 心 (heart) with a stroke through it, reinforcing the sense of inner certainty. It came to mean 'must' or 'certainly'.
需 — rain 雨 + and 而
Originally a pictograph showing a person standing in the rain, meaning 'to wait' for the rain to stop. The bottom component 而 (originally depicting a beard or a standing figure) was later reanalyzed phonetically. The meaning shifted from 'wait' to 'need' or 'require,' while the older 'wait' sense was taken over by 須.
品 — three 口 (mouth) stacked
品 is an ideogram showing three 口 (mouths or openings) piled together. The repetition of 口 suggests many people, items, or voices, which gave rise to meanings like 'kinds,' 'goods,' 'rank,' and 'to taste/judge.' The triple stacking is a common Chinese device for indicating plurality or variety.