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知命 (ちめい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

知ち命めい

ち

め

い

Meanings

1

noun

age 50; the age of knowing one's destiny

Classical term from the Analects of Confucius (五十にして天命を知る). Used in literary or formal contexts to refer to turning fifty.

彼かれは知ち命めいを迎むかえ、ますます円えん熟じゅく味みを増ましている。
He has reached the age of fifty and is becoming ever more mature.

Kanji

知know, wisdom
命fate, command, decree

Similar words

五ご十じゅっ歳さい
Standard, everyday term for 'fifty years old'. 知命 is a literary, Confucian-derived expression for the same age.

Etymology

From the Analects of Confucius: 五十にして天命を知る (at fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven). The term 知命 abbreviates this phrase to mean 'the age of knowing one's destiny', i.e., age 50.