How to say “life” in Chinese
life; fate
“Life” in Chinese is 命, mìng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
命 is read mìng. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
This is 令 “order” with an added 口 “mouth”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “命”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 命. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你相信命运吗？nǐxiāngxìnmìngyùnmaDo you believe in fate?
- 生命是脆弱的shēngmìngshìcuìruòdeLife is fragile.
- 乌龟的寿命很长wūguīdeshòumìnghěnchángTurtles live long.
- 野草的生命力很强yěcǎodeshēngmìnglìhěnqiángWeeds are very hardy.
- 那位医生救了我一命nàwèiyīshēngjiùlewǒyímìngThat doctor saved my life.
- 救命啊快来人jiùmìnga,kuàiláirénHelp! Somebody, come quick!
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Emergency”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “life” in Chinese?
“Life” in Chinese is 命, pinyin mìng.
What does 命 mean?
命 (mìng) means “life; fate”.
How do you write 命?
命 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 命?
命 is read mìng. Tones: mìng — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“life” in the lesson “Emergency”
This word is from the topic “Health” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free