運命
うんめい · unmei · JLPT N1 · noun
destiny
🎲 運 = luck + 命 = life/destiny: fate is luck joined with destiny
運 means luck or fortune, and 命 means life or destiny. Together, 運命 names the force that decides what happens to you, so it is fate itself.
命 — 亼 (gather) + 卩 (kneeling person) + 口 (mouth)
Originally depicted a kneeling figure receiving an oral command from above, combining 令 (order) with an added 口 (mouth) for emphasis. The image of authority issuing decrees extended from 'command' to 'mandate' and then 'destiny, life,' as one's fate was seen as decreed by Heaven.