mìng
noun HSK 6 #772

Meanings

  1. 1 life; fate; destiny
  2. 2 order; command
  3. 3 to assign; to name

Examples

Shēngmìng shì zuì zhòngyào de.
Life is the most important thing.
Mìngyùn zhǎngwò zài zìjǐ shǒuzhōng.
Fate is in your own hands.
救命
Jiùmìng!
Help! (Save my life!)

Tips

usage
is used in: 生命 (life), 命运 (fate/destiny), 革命 (revolution), 命令 (command/order), 救命 (save my life!), 寿命 (lifespan), 拼命 (desperately/with all one's might).

Components

radical
kǒu
mouth; speech
Inner mouth radical — the indexing component, tucked under the roof-line of . The added mouth makes the speaking explicit: an order issued by command from one mouth. From there the meaning broadened to fate/destiny — what has been spoken/decreed for one's life. Same radical: (name), (word).
phonetic
lìng
order; command
Outer wraps around the top and lower-right of the character — its strokes run before and after the inside. Supplies the sound (lìng → mìng, retained nasal coda) and the meaning of issuing a command. The original was simply with an added for emphasis on speech.

Stroke Order

mìng