知命

Chinese

		to know; to be aware	life; fate
simp. and trad. (知命)		知	命

Etymology

"Age of fifty"

From the Analects:

子曰：「吾十有五而志於學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十而從心所欲，不踰矩。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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子曰：「吾十有五而志于学，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳顺，七十而从心所欲，不逾矩。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zǐyuē: “Wú shí yǒu wǔ ér zhì yú xué, sānshí ér lì, sìshí ér bùhuò, wǔshí ér zhī tiānmìng, liùshí ér ěr shùn, qīshí ér cóngxīnsuǒyù, bù yújǔ.” [Pinyin]

The Master said, "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhīmìng

  (Zhuyin): ㄓ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zi¹ ming⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhīmìng
    • Zhuyin: ㄓ ㄇㄧㄥˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhihmìng
    • Wade–Giles: chih¹-ming⁴
    • Yale: jr̄-mìng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jyminq
    • Palladius: чжимин (čžimin)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zi¹ ming⁶
    • Yale: jī mihng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzi¹ ming⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: ji¹ ming⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː⁵⁵ mɪŋ²²/

Noun

知命

1. (literary, idiomatic) age of fifty

Derived terms

• 知命之年 (zhīmìngzhīnián)

 

See also

• 志學／志学 (zhìxué)
• 而立 (érlì)
• 不惑 (bùhuò)
• 耳順／耳顺
• 從心／从心

Verb

知命

1. (literary) to understand the Decree of Heaven; to know destiny

Japanese

Kanji in this term
知	命
ち Grade: 2	めい Grade: 3
on'yomi

Etymology

From Chinese 知命 (zhīmìng)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ちめー [chìméé] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [t͡ɕime̞ː]

Noun

知(ち)命(めい) • (chimei) 

1. understanding the Decree of Heaven, knowing one's fate
2. age of fifty