life · command

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 命 conveys life or a command; its on-readings are めい and みょう, and its kun-reading is いのち.
• Basic usage: 命を救いました means ‘saved a life’. Life within a seed can also be called 命.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Putting in all one's effort
  • 一生懸命, read いっしょうけんめい, describes doing something with all one's effort.
  • It can precede an action to describe how hard someone worked, as in 一生懸命練習した.