短命

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: Written 短命 and read たんめい, it describes a life span or period of existence that is unusually short.
• Basic usage: It applies to a test battery with little service life and a dynasty that survives only briefly.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Not limited to living beings
  • The word extends to the operating life of products and the duration of institutions or regimes.