---
title: "Shouming Meaning: 寿命 (shòumìng) Means “life span”"
description: "寿命 (traditional 壽命, shòumìng) means “life span; lifetime; service life (of a machine)”. Hear its tones, see what 寿 and 命 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/shouming"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 寿命 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

寿命 shòumìng

## life span; lifetime; service life (of a machine)

## Its characters

1. 寿 shòu age
2. 命 mìng life (as in 生命)

## In a sentence

现在人们的平均寿命越来越长。 People's average life span is getting longer and longer.

生死簿上记录着天下所有生命的**寿命**。

From [大闹地府 · Trouble in the Underworld](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/trouble-in-the-underworld-journey-to-the-west-intermediate-chinese-5#library-word-452-454)

[More about 寿命](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%AF%BF%E5%91%BD)

## More words with 寿 or 命

- [革命 gémìng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/geming)
- [救命 jiùmìng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jiuming)
- [命令 mìnglìng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/mingling)
- [命运 mìngyùn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/mingyun)
- [拼命 pīnmìng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/pinming)
- [任命 rènmìng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/renming)
- [生命 shēngmìng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/shengming)
- [生命力 shēngmìnglì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/shengmingli)
- [使命 shǐmìng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/shiming)
- [要命 yàomìng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yaoming)

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