命運

简 命运 · 繁 命運
Mandarin · pinyin mìng yùn

Meanings

  1. fate; destiny
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Characters in this entry

命
mìng · life; destiny, fate, luck; an order, instruction
運
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运
yùn · luck, fortune; ship, transport
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · ming4 yun4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

命運 · find source passages ↗ · 命运 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ming6 wan6

Cantonese word readings for 命運. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

  1. fate (of a person, country, business, etc.); destiny; kismet; lot
  2. fate (of a person, country, business, etc.); destiny; kismet; lot — (specifically, biology) fate (final cell type into which a particular cell will develop)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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