すべからく

す

べ

か

ら

く

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

adverb

absolutely ought to; by all means

usually written using kana alone

Classical adverb normally paired with べし or べき, meaning 'must' or 'ought to'. Used in formal or literary contexts; often misused as 'all' or 'everything' in modern Japanese.

学がく生せいはすべからく努ど力りょくすべきだ。

Students absolutely ought to make an effort.

この問もん題だいはすべからく議ぎ論ろんされるべし。

This issue must by all means be discussed.

2

adverb

all; entirely

usually written using kana alone

Non-standard modern usage meaning 'all' or 'everything', derived from confusion with すべて. Considered incorrect by prescriptive grammar, but encountered in casual writing.

すべからくの人ひとが賛さん成せいした。
All the people agreed. (non-standard)

Kanji

須ought, by all means, necessarily

Related words

すべて
すべて is the standard word for 'all' or 'everything'. すべからく is often mistakenly used in its place, but correctly means 'absolutely ought to'.
ぜひ
ぜひ is a common adverb meaning 'by all means' or 'certainly', used in requests and invitations. すべからく is more formal and literary, and pairs with べき/べし.

Written forms

すべからくUsage86%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 須らく and 須く are rare and archaic.
須すべからくUsage7%
Rare kanji spelling; the reading is not obvious from the characters.
須すべからくUsage7%
Rare kanji spelling; the reading is not obvious from the characters.

Etymology

Derived from classical Japanese すべし (should do) + からく (adverbial form). The kanji 須 is an ateji for the meaning 'ought to'.