孤立 (gū lì) — (adjective) isolated, lonely; (verb) to isolate… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

孤立 is both an adjective ('isolated') and a transitive verb ('to isolate/cut sb off') — sharper and more active than 孤独 or 寂寞, which only describe a personal feeling. Use 隔离 specifically for medical/separation contexts.

adjective

isolatedlonely

verb

to isolateto cut off from others

Examples

孤立。
Tā zài zhè ge chéng shì gǎn dào hěn gū lì.
He feels very isolated in this city.
孤立。
Bú yào gū lì rèn hé yí gè tóng xué.
Don't isolate any classmate.
孤立。
gū lì De huán jìng ràng tā hěn bù shū fu.
The isolated environment made him very uncomfortable.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

孤 (alone) and 立 (stand) together mean standing alone, cut off from others.

Characters in this word

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

子瓜孤

Meaning part形符xíngfú

子子zǐchild

Sound part声符shēngfú

瓜

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

孤 uses 子 (child) to show a child, and 瓜 to give the sound.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

立 pictures a person standing on the ground.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Emotions & Feelings

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