授命 (shòu mìng) — to give orders (formal); to offer one's life, to sacrifice (literary)

Definition

Formal/literary verb. Use 授命 to mean 'to give orders' in official contexts, or 'to lay down one's life' for a cause. The everyday 'give orders' is 命令.

verb
to give orders (formal)to offer one's lifeto sacrifice (literary)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 授命。
    Zǒng tǒng shòu mìng zǒng lǐ zǔ zhī xīn zhèng fǔ.
    The president ordered the prime minister to form a new government.
  • ，。
    Shàng jí shòu le yí cì mìng, yāo qiú lì jí xíng dòng.
    The superior gave an order once, demanding immediate action.
  • 授命。
    Zhàn shì men jué xīn wèi guó shòu mìng.
    The soldiers resolved to offer their lives for the country.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

授shòugive
命mìngorder/life

“授” is to give, and “命” is an order or one's life, so it means to issue commands or sacrifice.

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
受
受shòu授shòu
Same sound today

授 is built from 手 and 受. 受 gives the sound, and 手 is a hand.

Open 授 →

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 →

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