Chinese word

命运

Pronunciation

Pinyinmìng yùn

Meaning

  • nounfate

Example

你能改变你的命运吗？nǐ néng gǎi biàn nǐ de mìng yùn ma

Can you change your fate?

Illustration for 命运 (fate)

More examples

很多人希望通过努力来改变自己的命运。hěn duō rén xī wàng tōng guò nǔ lì lái gǎi biàn zì jǐ de mìng yùn

Many people hope to change their fate through hard work.

Core concept

A moving path through time, shaped by forces inside and outside a person or thing, that leads to a result.

Common phrases

  • 接受命运jiē shòu mìng yùn

    accept one's fate

  • 改变命运gǎi biàn mìng yùn

    change one's fate

Similar words

运气yùn qì: The chance that events bring good or bad results for a short time.
宿命sù mìng: A fixed fate that events are believed to follow and no one can change.

Definition in Chinese

指个人或事物在未来发展过程中受内外因素影响所形成的整体走向或结果。zhǐ gè rén huò shì wù zài wèi lái fā zhǎn guò chéng zhōng shòu nèi wài yīn sù yíng xiǎng suǒ xíng chéng de zhéng tǐ zǒu xiàng huò jié guǒ

Word origin

命 (mìng, "life or allotted course") + 运 (yùn, "movement") links a life's assigned course with its ongoing movement through changing conditions.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, the word can apply to a person, a family, or a larger project, so it is not limited to a supernatural belief about one individual.

Other meanings

  • destinynoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word