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Definition 2024

命

命

命 U+547D, 命
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-547D
← 呼
[U+547C] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 呾 →
[U+547E]
See also: 令

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

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

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

Chinese

simp. and trad.
 命

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 命
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bamboo and silk script Large seal script Small seal script
Characters in the same phonetic series (令) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
令 *ren, *reŋ, *reŋs, *reːŋ, *reːŋs
怜 *riːn, *reːŋ
零 *riːŋ, *reːŋ, *reːŋs
魿 *ɡriŋ, *reːŋ
命 *mreŋs
冷 *raːŋʔ, *reːŋ, *reːŋʔ
跉 *reŋ, *reːŋ
嶺 *reŋʔ
領 *reŋʔ
阾 *reŋʔ, *reːŋ
柃 *reŋʔ, *reːŋ
袊 *reŋʔ
詅 *reŋs, *reːŋ
旍 *ʔsleŋ
舲 *reːŋ
齡 *reːŋ
囹 *reːŋ
鴒 *reːŋ
蛉 *reːŋ
鈴 *reːŋ
苓 *reːŋ
伶 *reːŋ
泠 *reːŋ
瓴 *reːŋ
拎 *reːŋ
刢 *reːŋ
玲 *reːŋ
聆 *reːŋ
竛 *reːŋ
軨 *reːŋ
笭 *reːŋ, *reːŋʔ
翎 *reːŋ
閝 *reːŋ
鹷 *reːŋ
昤 *reːŋ
駖 *reːŋ
彾 *reːŋ
呤 *reːŋ
狑 *reːŋ
秢 *reːŋ
岭 *reːŋ
紷 *reːŋ
砱 *reːŋ
羚 *reːŋ
姈 *reːŋ
蕶 *reːŋ
澪 *reːŋ

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

Etymology

Related to 令 (OC *ren, *reŋ, *reŋs, *reːŋ, *reːŋs, “to order; to command; order”) (Wang, 1982). Both may be derived from 名 (OC *meŋ, “name”): “name” (名) > “to name; to give (a name to)” (命) > “to order; to command” > “order; command” > “destiny; fate; lot” > “life” (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

Rime
Character 命
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 明 (4)
Final (韻) 庚 (111)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 眉病切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang		 /mˠiæŋH/
Pan
Wuyun		 /mᵚiaŋH/
Shao
Rongfen		 /miaŋH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /miajŋH/
Li
Rong		 /miɐŋH/
Wang
Li		 /mĭɐŋH/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /mi̯ɐŋH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 mìng
Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 命
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 mìng
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ mjængH ›
Old
Chinese		 /*m-riŋ-s/ (dialect: *m-r- > *mr-, *-iŋ> *-eŋ)
English command (n.)

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter-Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 命
Reading # 1/1
No. 8275
Phonetic
component		 令
Rime
group		 耕
Rime
subdivision		 0
Corresponding
MC rime		 命
Old
Chinese		 /*mreŋs/
Notes 令轉註字

Definitions

命

  1. life; existence; state of living   (Classifier: 條／条 m c)
  2. lifespan; life expectancy
  3. destiny; fate; luck
  4. order; command; instruction
  5. to order; to command
  6. to give (a title, name to); to name

Synonyms

  • (life): 生命 (shēngmìng)

See also

  • 生活 (shēnghuó, “(personal aspects of) life”)

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

命

(grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
命
いのち
Grade: 3
kun'yomi

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, breath”, 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

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

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
命
みこと
Grade: 3
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Compound of 御 ‎(mi, honorific prefix) +‎ 言 ‎(koto, “word”).[2] The mi prefix is generally limited to extremely high-status contexts such as gods or emperors.

Pronunciation

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

Kanji in this term
命
みこと
Grade: 3
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 御 ‎(mi, honorific prefix) +‎ 事 ‎(koto, “abstract thing”, as opposed to 物, mono, “concrete thing”).[2][1]

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

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 }}})
      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

Kanji in this term
命
めい
Grade: 3
on'yomi

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

Pronunciation

Noun

命 ‎(hiragana めい, romaji mei)

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
  2. 1 2 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

Korean

Hanja

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

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Vietnamese

Han character

命 (mệnh, mạng, mình, mạnh, mịnh)

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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