命相 (mìng xiāng) — fate and physiognomy (the traditional belief that a person's destiny can be read from their facial features)

Definition

命相 combines 命 (destiny) and 相 (physiognomy) — the traditional practice of reading a person's fate from their face. Often used with the verb 看 (kàn xiàng); contrasts with the narrower 面相, which is just facial reading.

noun
fate and physiognomy (the traditional belief that a person's destiny can be read from their facial features)

Examples

  • 命相，。
    Jù shuō tā de mìng xiāng hěn hǎo, jiāng lái yí dìng néng chéng gōng.
    It is said that his fate-and-face combination is very good, so he will surely succeed in the future.
  • 命相。
    Gǔ dài hěn duō rén xiāng xìn mìng xiāng kě yǐ yù cè yì shēng de yùn shì.
    Many ancient people believed that physiognomy-fate could predict one's lifelong fortune.
  • 命相，。
    Wǒ bú tài xiāng xìn mìng xiāng, dàn jué de miàn xiàng yě yǒu yí dìng dào lǐ.
    I don't really believe in fate-and-physiognomy, but I do think facial reading has some logic.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

命mìngfate
相xiāngphysiognomy

命 and 相 are parallel ideas: fate and physiognomy, read together as destiny.

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
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.

Open 命 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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