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| Stroke order | |||
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命 (Kangxi radical 30,口+5, 8 strokes,cangjie input人一口中 (OMRL),four-corner80627,composition⿱亼叩 or⿹令口)
| simp. andtrad. | 命 | |
|---|---|---|
| alternative forms | 𠇮 𫝇 | |
| Historical forms of the character命 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shang | Western Zhou | Warring States | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled inHan) | Liushutong (compiled inMing) |
| Oracle bone script | Bronze inscriptions | Chu slip and silk script | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
 |  |  |  |  |
| 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 |
Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声,OC*mreŋs): semantic 口(“mouth”) + phonetic 令(OC*ren, *reŋ, *reŋs, *reːŋ, *reːŋs). Doublet of呤 (OC*reːŋ).
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). For a roughly similar semantic development, see Latinfāta (whence Englishfate), fromfātus(“spoken”), fromfor(“to speak”).
| 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 |
| Baxter | mjaengH |
| Reconstructions | |
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /mˠiæŋH/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /mᵚiaŋH/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /miaŋH/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /miajŋH/ |
| Li Rong | /miɐŋH/ |
| Wang Li | /mĭɐŋH/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /mi̯ɐŋH/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | mìng |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | ming6 |
| 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; | |
| 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 |
命
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 命 |
| いのち Grade: 3 |
| kun'yomi |
FromOld Japanese, fromProto-Japonic*inəti. 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.
命 as "life" is distinct from several other Japanese words that may also be translated to English as "life". In particular, it means "the state of being alive, an animating force, or life as a whole (from birth to death)". Compare the terms below, which may also be rendered as "life" in English:
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 命 |
| みこと Grade: 3 |
| kun'yomi |
FromOld Japanese. Compound of御(mi-,honorific prefix) +言(koto,“word”).[2] Themi prefix is generally limited to extremely high-status contexts such asgods oremperors.
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 命 |
| みこと Grade: 3 |
| kun'yomi |
FromOld Japanese. Originally a compound of御(mi-,honorific prefix) +事(koto,“abstract thing”,as opposed to物,mono, “concrete thing”).[2][1]
Used ironically from the lateHeian period, expressing a sense of mildderision orridicule.
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 命 |
| めい Grade: 3 |
| on'yomi |
FromMiddle Chinese命(mjængH,“command”). Compare modernMandarin命(mìng,“life, destiny, instruction”).
FromProto-Ryukyuan*inoti, fromProto-Japonic*inəti.
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 命 |
| ぬち Grade: 3 |
| kun'yomi |
命 (nuchi)
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 命 |
| いぬち Grade: 3 |
| kun'yomi |
命 (inuchi)
命:Hán Việt readings:mệnh[1][2][3],mạng[2][4],mạnh[2],mịnh[2]
命:Nôm readings:mạng[3][5][4][6][7],mình[2][3][5],mệnh[3][6],mạnh[3]