宿命(しゅくめい)

しゅくめい
noun
fate; destiny; predestination
1. fate; destiny; predestination
A predetermined course of events that one cannot escape. Often carries a sense of inevitability, sometimes with a tragic or weighty connotation.
これは宿命(しゅくめい)だと諦(あきら)めた。
I accepted that this was fate.
二人(ふたり)の出会(であ)いは宿命(しゅくめい)だったのかもしれない。
Perhaps the two of them meeting was destiny.
宿命(しゅくめい)のライバルと呼(よ)ばれている。
They are called fated rivals.

KANJI BREAKDOWN:
宿(しゅく) (lodging, staying → predetermined) + 命(めい) (life, fate)
Literally: "predetermined life/fate"

USAGE:
宿命(しゅくめい) emphasizes that something was determined before birth or from the beginning - it's inescapable destiny. Often used in dramatic or literary contexts.

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • 宿命(しゅくめい)のライバル - fated rivals
  • 宿命(しゅくめい)の対決(たいけつ) - destined showdown
  • 宿命(しゅくめい)を受(う)け入(い)れる - to accept one's fate

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 運命(うんめい) - fate, destiny (more general, can be changed)
  • 天命(てんめい) - divine will, heaven's decree
  • 定(さだ)め - fate, destiny (literary)
  • 因縁(いんねん) - karma, fate (Buddhist connotation)

NUANCE:
宿命(しゅくめい) is stronger than 運命(うんめい) - it suggests the outcome was absolutely fixed from the start.

REGISTER:
Neutral to literary. Often used in dramatic narratives.

Related Words

Related: 巡(めぐ)り合(あ)わせ (fate)
general
Added 2026.1.19 16:24 · Revised 2026.1.24 23:24
07000/07401_shukumei