生命

Chinese

		to be born; to give birth; life to be born; to give birth; life; to grow; student; raw	life; fate
simp. and trad. (生命)		生	命

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): shēngmìng

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄥ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

  (Nanjing, Nanjing Pinyin): sènmīn

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sang¹ ming⁶

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): sên-miang / sâng-miang

  (Hailu, HRS): sen^ˋ miang^˖

• Eastern Min (BUC): sĕng-mêng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): seng-bēng / sng-bēng / seⁿ-miā / siⁿ-miā

  (Teochew, Peng'im): sêng¹ mêng⁶

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹sen-min

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shēngmìng
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄥ ㄇㄧㄥˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shengmìng
    • Wade–Giles: shêng¹-ming⁴
    • Yale: shēng-mìng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shengminq
    • Palladius: шэнмин (šɛnmin)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/
  • (Nanjing)
    • Nanjing Pinyin: sènmīn
    • Nanjing Pinyin (numbered): sen¹ min⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sə̃³¹ mĩ⁴⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong–Macau)⁺
    • Jyutping: sang¹ ming⁶
    • Yale: sāng mihng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sang¹ ming⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: seng¹ ming⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐŋ⁵⁵ mɪŋ²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sên-miang / sâng-miang
    • Hakka Romanization System: sen^ˊ miang / sang^ˊ miang
    • Hagfa Pinyim: sen¹ miang⁴ / sang¹ miang⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /sen²⁴⁻¹¹ mi̯aŋ⁵⁵/, /saŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ mi̯aŋ⁵⁵/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: sen^ˋ miang^˖
    • Sinological IPA: /sen⁵³ miaŋ³³/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: sĕng-mêng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɛiŋ⁵⁵⁻⁵³ mɛiŋ²⁴²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: seng-bēng
    • Tâi-lô: sing-bīng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sengbeng
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /siɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² biɪŋ²²/
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /siɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ biɪŋ³³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sng-bēng
    • Tâi-lô: sng-bīng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sngbeng
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sŋ̍³³ biɪŋ⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: seⁿ-miā
    • Tâi-lô: senn-miā
    • Phofsit Daibuun: svemia
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /sẽ⁴⁴⁻³³ miã³³/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siⁿ-miā
    • Tâi-lô: sinn-miā
    • Phofsit Daibuun: svimia
    • IPA (Taipei): /sĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ miã³³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: sêng¹ mêng⁶
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: seng mĕng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /seŋ³³⁻²³ meŋ³⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹sen-min
    • MiniDict: sen^平 min
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹sen-min
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /sən⁵⁵ min²¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: sraeng mjaengH

Rime
Character	生	命
Reading #	1/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	生 (21)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	庚 (109)	庚 (111)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	II	III
Fanqie	所庚切	眉病切
Baxter	sraeng	mjaengH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʃˠæŋ/	/mˠiæŋH/
Pan Wuyun	/ʃᵚaŋ/	/mᵚiaŋH/
Shao Rongfen	/ʃaŋ/	/miaŋH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʂaɨjŋ/	/miajŋH/
Li Rong	/ʃɐŋ/	/miɐŋH/
Wang Li	/ʃɐŋ/	/mĭɐŋH/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʂɐŋ/	/mi̯ɐŋH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shēng	mìng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sang1	ming6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*sreŋ  m-riŋ-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*sʰleːŋ  mreŋs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	生	命
Reading #	1/3	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shēng	mìng
Middle Chinese	‹ sræng ›	‹ mjængH ›
Old Chinese	/*sreŋ/ (MC srj- > sr-; or *s.reŋ ?)	/*m-riŋ-s/ (dialect: *m-r- > *mr-, *-iŋ> *-eŋ)
English	bear, be born; live	command (n.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	生	命
Reading #	1/2	1/1
No.	11312	8275
Phonetic component	生	令
Rime group	耕	耕
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	生	命
Old Chinese	/*sʰleːŋ/	/*mreŋs/
Notes		令轉註字

Noun

生命

1. (countable, uncountable) life (characteristic of living beings, state of being alive) (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 條／条 m c)

   生命寶貴／生命宝贵  ―  shēngmìng bǎoguì  ―  life is precious

   浪費生命／浪费生命  ―  làngfèi shēngmìng  ―  to waste one's life

   外星生命  ―  wàixīng shēngmìng  ―  extraterrestrial life

   生命的意義／生命的意义  ―  shēngmìng de yìyì  ―  the meaning of life

   危及到某人的生命 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

   wēijí dào mǒurén de shēngmìng [Pinyin]

   to endanger someone's life

   珍惜生命，拒絕毒品。 [MSC, trad.]
   珍惜生命，拒绝毒品。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhēnxī shēngmìng, jùjué dúpǐn. [Pinyin]

   Cherish life, say no to drugs.

   死亡不是生命的終點，遺忘才是。 [MSC, trad.]
   死亡不是生命的终点，遗忘才是。 [MSC, simp.]

   Sǐwáng bù shì shēngmìng de zhōngdiǎn, yíwàng cái shì. [Pinyin]

   Death is not the end of life; forgetting is.

2. living being; creature

   可愛的小生命／可爱的小生命  ―  kě'ài de xiǎo shēngmìng  ―  cute little creature

3. (figuratively) timespan (of an activity); career

   政治生命  ―  zhèngzhì shēngmìng  ―  political career

Synonyms

edit

• 一口氣 / 一口气 (yīkǒuqì) (figurative)
• 命仔 (meng⁶ zai²) (Cantonese)
• 性命 (xìngmìng)
• 活命 (huómìng)

Derived terms

• 小生命 (xiǎoshēngmìng)
• 新生命
• 無生命 / 无生命 (wúshēngmìng)
• 生命保險 / 生命保险 (shēngmìng bǎoxiǎn)
• 生命力 (shēngmìnglì)
• 生命器官 (shēngmìng qìguān)
• 生命形式 (shēngmìng xíngshì)
• 生命徵象 / 生命征象 (shēngmìng zhēngxiàng)
• 生命教練 / 生命教练 (shēngmìng jiàoliàn)
• 生命科學 / 生命科学 (shēngmìng kēxué)
• 生命線 / 生命线 (shēngmìngxiàn)
• 生命跡象 / 生命迹象 (shēngmìng jìxiàng)
• 生命週期 / 生命周期 (shēngmìng zhōuqī)
• 生命遊戲 / 生命游戏 (Shēngmìng Yóuxì)
• 生命體 / 生命体 (shēngmìngtǐ)
• 生命體徵 / 生命体征 (shēngmìng tǐzhēng)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (生命):

• → Japanese: 生命(せいめい) (seimei)
• → Korean: 생명(生命) (saengmyeong)
• → Vietnamese: sinh mệnh (生命)

See also

• 人生 (rénshēng)
• 生活 (shēnghuó)