苦命 (kǔ mìng) — miserable fate; hard lot | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A literary/literary-leaning noun meaning a fate marked by suffering — used as an attributive (苦命的人) or after 接受. Stronger and more emotive than 命运 ('fate' in neutral sense).

noun

miserable fatehard lot

Examples

，苦命。
Tā cóng xiǎo shī qù shuāng qīn, zhēn shì kǔ mìng.
She lost both parents as a child — truly a miserable fate.
苦命，。
Tā bù gān xīn jiē shòu kǔ mìng, yì zhí nǔ lì gǎi biàn mìng yùn.
He refused to accept his hard lot and kept striving to change his destiny.
，苦命。
Lǎo yí bèi rén cháng shuō, kǔ mìng de rén gèng yào jiān qiáng.
Older generations often say that people with a hard lot must be even stronger.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

苦kǔbitter

The bitterness of 苦 and the fate sense of 命 make a miserable lot.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

古gǔ苦kǔ

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 艸 shows grass or plants, matching the sense of bitter plants. The bottom 古 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

令lìng命mìng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

命 combines 口, a mouth, with 令, which gives the sound.

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