性命

• Pinyin: xìng mìng
• Hanzi breakdown: 性 = 忄 + 生 (life essence/nature); 命 = 人 + 一 + 口 (life/fate/mandate)

Meaning

Life; one's very life. Used in contexts involving danger, risk, or mortal consequence. More emphatic than 生命.

Emphasises the preciousness or vulnerability of life, often in life-or-death situations. 性命攸关 (a matter of life and death) is a standard set phrase. Common in literary and formal registers.

Examples

1. 消防员奋不顾身冲入火场，将被困人员的性命置于自身安危之上。 The firefighter rushed into the blaze without hesitation, putting the trapped people’s lives above his own safety.
2. 主治医生告知家属，患者的性命已处于极度危险之中，必须立即实施手术。 The attending doctor told the family that the patient’s life was in extreme danger and surgery had to be performed immediately.
3. 战场上的士兵深知性命的脆弱，每一次执行任务都可能是最后一次出征。 On the battlefield, soldiers know how fragile life is—every mission could be their last deployment.

Usage Guide

Context: danger, medicine, military, literary

Tone: solemn

Do Say

• 灾难现场救援人员的首要职责是尽一切可能确保被困者的性命安全。(The primary duty of rescuers at a disaster site is to ensure the safety of those trapped by all possible means.)
• 这位外科医生以精湛技术挽救了无数患者的性命，在业界享有崇高声誉。(This surgeon has saved countless lives with outstanding skills and commands great respect in the medical field.)

Don't Say

• 他的性命还好吗 — 性命 conveys gravity and danger; for general well-being use 身体 or 健康; using 性命 in non-urgent contexts sounds unnecessarily dramatic

Origin & History

性 (nature/life essence) + 命 (life/fate/order)

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional to Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal