露命 (romei: transient life, ephemeral existence) transience + life
I’m glad to see 命 here, because I recently happened upon a great-looking compound involving 命, and now, thanks to free-association, I have an opportunity to share it:
命令 (meirei: order, command, decree, directive)
order + commandI love how neatly the elements in each kanji mirror each other without always being perfect duplicates.
Just one thing—whereas 命 means “life” in 露命 and in 命 (inochi: life), this character means “order, command, instruction” in 命令. Actually, “order” is the original meaning of this kanji. (And I now realize that we’ve touched on this briefly before.)
As to how “order” evolved into “life,” Henshall says, “The issuing of an order came to symbolise the expression of will of those superiors who govern one’s life, including the gods.” Therefore, 命 came to mean “one’s lot” or “fate,” acquiring the meaning of “life.”
Here’s a sample sentence featuring 命令:
社長の直々の命令です。
Shachō no jikijiki no meirei desu.
It’s a direct order from the company president.社長 (shachō: company president)
company + head
直々 (jikijiki: personal, direct) direct x 2
