单独 (dān dú) — alone; by oneself; on one's own | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

单独 (dāndú) means doing something alone, by oneself, with no one else. Compared with 独自, it is more common in formal/written contexts; 自行 stresses doing something voluntarily on one's own.

adverb

aloneby oneselfon one's own

Examples

单独？
Nǐ dān dú lǚ xíng guò ma?
Have you traveled alone?
单独。
Tā dān dú fù zé zhè ge xiàng mù.
He is responsible for this project on his own.
单独。
Wǒ dān dú qù jiàn le lǎo shī.
I went to see the teacher alone.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

单dānsingle/alone

单 means single, and 独 means alone; together they emphasize being by oneself.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

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.

Appears in

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