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受命于天

shòu mìng yú tiāndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to be emperor by the grace of heaven / to have the mandate of heaven
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-bd11c5a8b40117e1. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

受命於天 受命于天 [shou4 ming4 yu2 tian1] /to be emperor by the grace of heaven; to have the mandate of heaven/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 受命於天

  • 受
    shòu

    to receive / to accept / to suffer / subjected to / to bear / to stand / pleasant / (passive marker) / (LGBT) bottom

  • 命
    mìng

    life / fate / order or command / to assign a name, title etc

  • 于
    yú

    to go / to take / sentence-final interrogative particle / (of time or place) in / at / on / (indicating any indirect relation) to / toward / vis-à-vis / with regard to / for / (indicating a source) from / out of / (used in comparison) than / (used in the passive voice) by

    Yú

    surname Yu

  • 天
    tiān

    day / sky / heaven

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.