使命

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 使命, read しめい, means an important role or mission to fulfill.
• Basic usage: In 医師は命を守ることが自分の使命だと語った。, the doctor regards protecting lives as a personal calling.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Calling and assigned mission
  • 自分の使命 emphasizes a personally felt responsibility, while 使命を与えられた emphasizes an assigned mission. The word covers both a personal calling and an organizational task.