命

See also 令

Translingual

Stroke order

Etymology

Ideogrammic compound (會意): 口 + 令 (“order”)

Han character

命 (radical 30 口+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 人一口中 (OMRL), four-corner 8062₇)

1. life
2. destiny, fate, luck
3. an order, instruction

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Cantonese

Hanzi

命 (jyutping meng6, ming6, Yale meng6, ming6)

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Japanese

Kanji

命 (grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Go'on: みょう (myō), (historical) みゃう (myau)
• Kan'on: めい (mei)
• Kun: いのち (inochi), みこと (mikoto)

Compounds

Compounds

革命 (かくめい, kakumei): revolution

運命 (うんめい, unmei): fate, destiny

Etymology 1

From Old Japanese. Probably a compound of Old Japanese elements 息 (i, “breath”, i in compounds, iki on its own) +‎ の (no, possessive particle) +‎ 霊 (chi, “spirit, force, soul”).

Some analyses describe this as a compound using 生 (i, “life”, i in compounds, iki on its own) as the initial semantic element. This is equally valid, as 息 (iki) and 生き (iki) are cognates.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA: [ino̞t͡ɕi]

Noun

命 (hiragana いのち, romaji inochi)

1. life
2. lifespan
3. lifetime
4. fate, destiny
5. (figuratively) the most important part or aspect of a thing

Synonyms

• (life): 生命 (せいめい, seimei)
• (lifespan): 寿命 (じゅみょう, jumyō)
• (lifetime): 生涯 (しょうがい, shōgai); 一生 (いっしょう, isshō)
• (fate): 運命 (うんめい, unmei)
• (destiny): 天命 (てんめい, tenmei)
• (core aspect): 真髄 (しんずい, shinzui)

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese. Compound of 御 (mi-, honorific prefix) +‎ 言 (koto, “word”). The mi prefix is generally limited to extremely high-status contexts such as gods or emperors.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA: [miko̞to̞]

Alternative forms

• 御言

Noun

命 (hiragana みこと, romaji mikoto)

1. the words or pronouncements of a god or an emperor

Etymology 3

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 御 (mi-, honorific prefix) +‎ 事 (koto, “abstract thing”, as opposed to 物, mono, “concrete thing”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA: [miko̞to̞]

Alternative forms

• 尊

Noun

命 (hiragana みこと, romaji mikoto)

1. the honorable, the exalted

   Used as a title after the referenced noun when referring to gods, emperors, or other high-status persons.

   • 711-712: Kojiki (Kami tsu maki)

     夜知富許能 迦微能美許登波

     八千矛の神の命は

     やちほこのかみのみことは

     Yachihoko no kami no mikoto wa

     the honorable god Yachihoko

   • c. 759: Man'yōshū (book Book 20, No. 4408, poem #{{{2}}})

     波々蘇婆能 波々能美許等波

     柞葉の母の命は

     ははそばのははのみことは

     hahasoba no haha no mikoto wa

     the exalted mother of the oak leaf

2. the beloved, dearly beloved

   Similarly used as a title after the referenced noun.

   • 711-712: Kojiki (Kami tsu maki)

     和加久佐能　都麻能美許登

     若草の妻の命

     わかくさのつまのみこと

     Wakakusa no tsuma no mikoto

     dearly beloved young wife

Pronoun

命 (hiragana みこと, romaji mikoto)

1. you
2. that person

Usage notes

Used ironically from the late Heian period, expressing a sense of mild derision or ridicule.

Etymology 4

From Middle Chinese 命 (/mjængH/, “command”). Compare modern Mandarin 命 (mìng, “life, destiny, instruction”).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• IPA: [me̞ː]

Noun

命 (hiragana めい, romaji mei)

1. fate, destiny
2. life, lifespan
3. order, command

Synonyms

• (fate): 運命 (うんめい, unmei)
• (destiny): 天命 (てんめい, tenmei)
• (life): 生命 (せいめい, seimei)
• (lifespan): 寿命 (じゅみょう, jumyō)
• (order): 仰, 仰せ (おおせ, ōse); 命令 (めいれい, meirei)

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Korean

Hanja

命 (hangeul 명, revised myeong, McCune-Reischauer myŏng)

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Mandarin

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Hanzi

命 (pinyin mìng (ming4), zǔ (zu3), Wade-Giles ming⁴, tsu³)

Compounds

• 命案
• 命笔
• 命大
• 命定
• 命根
• 命苦
• 命令
• 命令句
• 命令主义
• 命脉
• 命名
• 命世
• 命数
• 命题
• 命途
• 命相
• 命運, 命运
• 命中

References

• KangXi: page 183, character 18
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3473
• Dae Jaweon: page 402, character 15
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 604, character 11
• Unihan data for U+547D

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Vietnamese

Han character

命 (mệnh, mạng, mình, mạnh, mịnh)