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一个个 (yí gè gè) — each one; every one; one by one; one after another

Definition

一个个 is a bound form meaning 'each one / one by one' — used like an adverb to distribute over a group (一个个学生 = 'every student', 一个放好 = 'put them away one by one'). It pairs with 都 to emphasize universality.

bound form
each oneevery oneone by oneone after another

Examples

  • 一个个。
    yí gè gè Xué shēng dōu lái le.
    Every student has arrived.
  • 一个个。
    Tā bǎ shū yí gè gè fàng hǎo.
    He put the books away, one by one.
  • 一个个。
    yí gè gè Dōu hěn kāi xīn.
    Each one is very happy.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 個; 个 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
固
固gù個ge
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 个, the form 個 pairs 亻 (person) with 固 as a sound part.

Open 个 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 個; 个 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
固
固gù個ge
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 个, the form 個 pairs 亻 (person) with 固 as a sound part.

Open 个 →
Appears in
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