The word 注定 is formed by combining the character 注, which originally depicted the idea of pouring water or concentrating something into a specific place (like an annotation pouring meaning into text), with 定, meaning fixed, settled, or decided. Together, they create a powerful conceptual metaphor: a destiny or outcome that has been "poured into a fixed mold", as if fate itself has been irrevocably cast and settled, leaving no room for alteration. It conveys a sense of inevitability that is pre-written and unchangeable.