Word
運命
Meaning in Englishfate
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
運命 denotes the force or natural course that determines events in a person's life, typically viewed as inevitable or preordained.
Main meanings
- In everyday usage, indicates the predetermined nature of life events or encounters
- In literature and media, frames characters' unavoidable destinies as a central theme
- In philosophical or religious contexts, discusses determinism, cosmic order, or divine will
How to use it
Used in formal writing and everyday speech to discuss fate or destiny; common expressions include 運命を受け入れる and 運命を変える; tone is generally serious or reflective; appropriate in literature, philosophy, and storytelling.
Variants and close terms
- 宿命 (shukumei) — predestination
- 定め (sadame) — decree, fate
- 運命論 (unmeiron) — determinism
Composition
- 運: fortune, luck, movement; in compounds it evokes the idea of the force that carries events
- 命: life, fate, order; communicates inevitability and the course of life
Etymology
unmei originates as a Sino-Japanese on reading combo where 運 provides un and 命 contributes mei; the pronunciation merged in modern Japanese to a single unit.
Origin
運命 entered Japanese discourse through Chinese thought and Buddhist influence, appearing in Heian period literature and becoming a staple in later philosophical and popular writing.
Word class
Noun (名詞)