独居 (dú jū) — to live alone; to live a solitary existence | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

verb

to live aloneto live a solitary existence

Examples

独居。
Tā xiàn zài yí gè rén dú jū zài shān lǐ.
He now lives alone in the mountains.
独居，。
Hěn duō lǎo rén xǐ huan dú jū, bú yuàn yì hé zǐ nǚ zhù zài yì qǐ.
Many elderly people like to live alone and don't want to live with their children.
独居，。
dú jū De shēng huó suī rán zì yóu, dàn yǒu shí yě huì gǎn dào gū dú.
Although living alone is free, sometimes you also feel lonely.

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.

独 (alone) and 居 (live) give the sense of living alone.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獨; 独 is its simplified writing.

犭蜀獨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

犭Written in full as犬quǎn

Sound part声符shēngfú

蜀

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 獨 pairs 犬 (dog) with 蜀, which gives the sound; the simplified 独 is a shorthand.

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

尸古居

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

古gǔ居jū

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

居 is built from 尸 as the meaning part and 古 (gǔ) as the sound part.

Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.