This Chinese compound word generally means destiny, fortune or fate. To be specific, mìng or destiny is as ordained by Heaven at one's birth, and yùn or fortune is the cycles or trends of time that influence our fortune (or luck), and together they constitute our fate.

Take the example of astrology, mìng or destiny is the influence as shown in our natal chart, and yùn or fortune is the influence of planetary transits and progressions, etc.   Another more explicit example is the Bazi or Four Pillars Analysis where analysis according to the Year, Month, Day and Time pillars is our mìng or destiny, and analysis according to the ten year cycles and yearly cycles is our yùn or fortune.