命 (mìng) is a Chinese character meaning “life”. It is written from 亼 (a roof of gathering: a person (人) over a horizontal line) and 口 (mouth) and 卩 (kneeling person; seal (tally)), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “life; order”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亼 + 口 + 卩
Top–bottom structure
- 亼 a roof of gathering: a person (人) over a horizontal line · jí unknown
- 口 mouth · kǒu meaning
- 卩 kneeling person; seal (tally) · jié unknown
Structure from: 现代字形拆分 IDS ⿱亼⿰口卩，已逐笔对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验
Memory aid
A roof (亼) over a mouth (口) and a kneeling figure (卩): words come down from above, and the one kneeling below takes them as an order — 命.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 命令mìng lìngan order; to give an order命 = mìng
- 寿命shòu mìnglife span; lifetime命 = mìng
- 辛亥革命xīn hài gé mìngthe Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which ended dynastic rule in China命 = mìng
- 救命jiù mìngto save someone's life; Help!命 = mìng
- 革命gé mìngrevolution; to revolt命 = mìng
Go deeper
All readings
life; order
life; fate, destiny; an order, a command; to assign, to give an order
生命；命运；上级发出的指示，也指下达指示。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 命令mìng lìngan order; to give an order命 = mìng
- 寿命shòu mìnglife span; lifetime命 = mìng
- 辛亥革命xīn hài gé mìngthe Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which ended dynastic rule in China命 = mìng
- 救命jiù mìngto save someone's life; Help!命 = mìng
- 革命gé mìngrevolution; to revolt命 = mìng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 命 mean?
命 (mìng) means life; fate, destiny; an order, a command; to assign, to give an order.
How do you pronounce 命?
It is pronounced mìng.
What parts is 命 made of?
亼 (a roof of gathering: a person (人) over a horizontal line) and 口 (mouth) and 卩 (kneeling person; seal (tally)), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分 IDS ⿱亼⿰口卩，已逐笔对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 命 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 命?
口. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 命?
Common ones are 命令. The reading of 命 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.