命 (mìng) — how to say "life" in Chinese

命

Life

noun · verb

  1. 1. life; fate; orderHSK 3.0 · level 5

    noun

  2. 2. to order; to command; to nameHSK 3.0 · level 7-9

    verb

Character composition

命

life

Radicals / Keys

口

Mouth

#30 · kǒu · 3 strokes

Synonyms

Collocations

一条命

yì tiáo mìng

one life

救他的命

jiù tā de mìng

to save his life

Examples

他用自己的命救了那个孩子。

He saved that child with his own life.

命很重要。

Life is very important.

Writing

Try remembering 命

Three short exercises on meaning and pronunciation. Free, no sign-up needed.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say "life" in Chinese?

"life" in Chinese is 命 (mìng).

命 meaning in English

命 (mìng) means "Life".

How is 命 pronounced?

It is pronounced mìng (written as ming). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.

Life in Chinese characters

It is written 命 and has 8 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order and lets you trace it.

What HSK 3.0 level is 命?

命 is on the HSK 3.0 level 5 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.

Tomyo

Learn Chinese words with spaced repetition

Add 命 to your vocabulary and remember it with smart reviews, audio and examples.

Download the app

Grammar with 命

More HSK 3.0 level 5 words