# 性命
## Chinese
### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): xìngmìng
    (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄇㄧㄥˋ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): sing$^3$ ming$^6$
* Hakka (Sixian, PFS): sin-miang
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sìⁿ-miā / sèⁿ-miā / sì-miā / sèng-bēng
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^1$shin-min$_6$; $^5$shin-min$_6$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: xìngmìng → xìngming (toneless final syllable variant)
*** Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄇㄧㄥˋ → ㄒㄧㄥˋ ˙ㄇㄧㄥ (toneless final syllable variant)
*** Tongyong Pinyin: sìngmi̊ng
*** Wade–Giles: hsing$^4$-ming$^5$
*** Yale: syìng-ming
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shinq.minq
*** Palladius: синмин (sinmin)
*** Sinological IPA : /ɕiŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ miŋ⁵¹/ → /ɕiŋ⁵¹ miŋ¹/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: sing$^3$ ming$^6$
*** Yale: sing mihng
*** Cantonese Pinyin: sing$^3$ ming$^6$
*** Guangdong Romanization: xing$^3$ ming$^6$
*** Sinological IPA : /sɪŋ³³ mɪŋ²²/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sin-miang
*** Hakka Romanization System: xin miang
*** Hagfa Pinyim: xin$^4$ miang$^4$
*** Sinological IPA: /sin⁵⁵ mi̯aŋ⁵⁵/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei, Singapore)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sìⁿ-miā
*** Tâi-lô: sìnn-miā
*** Phofsit Daibuun: sviemia
*** IPA (Xiamen): /sĩ²¹⁻⁵³ miã²²/
*** IPA (Singapore): /sĩ²¹⁻⁴² mia²²/
*** IPA (Taipei): /sĩ¹¹⁻⁵³ miã³³/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /sĩ⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ miã⁴¹/
** (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sèⁿ-miā
*** Tâi-lô: sènn-miā
*** Phofsit Daibuun: sveamia
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /sɛ̃²¹⁻⁵³ miã²²/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /sẽ²¹⁻⁴¹ miã³³/
** (Hokkien: Philippines)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sì-miā
*** Tâi-lô: sì-miā
*** Phofsit Daibuun: siemia
*** IPA (Philippines): /si⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ mia⁴¹/
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sèng-bēng
*** Tâi-lô: sìng-bīng
*** Phofsit Daibuun: seangbeng
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɪŋ²¹⁻⁴¹ biɪŋ³³/
*** IPA (Taipei): /siɪŋ¹¹⁻⁵³ biɪŋ³³/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /siɪŋ⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ biɪŋ⁴¹/
*** IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /siɪŋ²¹⁻⁵³ biɪŋ²²/
* Wu
** (Northern: Shanghai)
*** Wugniu: $^1$shin-min$_6$; $^5$shin-min$_6$
*** MiniDict: shin$^平$ min$^去$; shin$^去$ min$^去$
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^1$xin-min$_3$; $^2$xin-min$_3$
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕin⁵⁵ min²¹/, /ɕin³³ min⁴⁴/
* Middle Chinese: sjengH mjaengH
Rime :
| Character | 性 | 命 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 心 (16) | 明 (4) |
| Final (韻) | 清 (121) | 庚 (111) |
| Tone (調) | Departing (H) | Departing (H) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | III | III |
| Fanqie | 息正切 | 眉病切 |
| Baxter | sjengH | mjaengH |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /siᴇŋ$^H$/ | /mˠiæŋ$^H$/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /siɛŋ$^H$/ | /mᵚiaŋ$^H$/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /siæŋ$^H$/ | /miaŋ$^H$/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /siajŋ$^H$/ | /miajŋ$^H$/ |
| Li Rong | /siɛŋ$^H$/ | /miɐŋ$^H$/ |
| Wang Li | /sĭɛŋ$^H$/ | /mĭɐŋ$^H$/ |
| Bernard Karlgren | /si̯ɛŋ$^H$/ | /mi̯ɐŋ$^H$/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | xìng | mìng |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | sing$^3$ | ming$^6$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*seŋ-s m-riŋ-s/
    (Zhengzhang): /*sleŋs mreŋs/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 性 | 命 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | xìng | mìng |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ sjeng$^H$ › | ‹ mjæng$^H$ › |
| Old Chinese | /*seŋ-s/ | /*m-riŋ-s/ (dialect: *m-r- > *mr-, *-iŋ> *-eŋ) |
| English | nature | command (n.) |
| Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary. |||
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 性 | 命 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| No. | 11358 | 8275 |
| Phonetic component | 生 | 令 |
| Rime group | 耕 | 耕 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 性 | 命 |
| Old Chinese | /*sleŋs/ | /*mreŋs/ |
| Notes | | 令轉註字 |

### Noun

性命
* life; survival
    性命交關／性命交关 ― xìngmìng jiāoguān ― vitally important (lit. related to life)
    性命圭旨 ― xìngmìng guīzhǐ ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

#### Synonyms

* 一口氣／一口气 (yīkǒuqì) (figurative)
* 命仔 (meng$^6$ zai$^2$) (Cantonese)
* 活命 (huómìng)
* 生命 (shēngmìng)

#### Derived terms

* 丕性命
* 壞了性命／坏了性命
* 性命之交
* 性命之憂／性命之忧
* 性命交關／性命交关 (xìngmìngjiāoguān)
* 性命攸關／性命攸关 (xìngmìngyōuguān)
* 潑性命／泼性命
* 身家性命 (shēnjiā xìngmìng)

#### Descendants

* → Japanese: 性命(せいめい) (seimei)
* → Korean: 성명(性命) (seongmyeong)
* → Vietnamese: tính mạng (性命)

### References

* “Entry #3919”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.