孤单 (gū dān) — lonely; lone; solitary | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

孤单 is the everyday, people-focused 'lonely' — feeling the absence of company. Stronger than 寂寞 (a general quiet/loneliness, also of places); 孤独 is more literary, and 孤零零 emphasizes the pitiful, desolate scene.

adjective

lonelylonesolitary

Examples

，孤单。
Zài zhè ge mò shēng de chéng shì lǐ, tā gǎn dào hěn gū dān.
In this unfamiliar city, he feels very lonely.
，孤单。
Tā méi yǒu péng you, shēng huó hěn gū dān.
She has no friends, and her life is very lonely.
，孤单。
Jí shǐ shēn zài rén qún zhōng, tā réng gǎn dào gū dān.
Even among a crowd, he still feels lonely.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

孤 (alone) and 单 (single) combine to emphasize being alone and lonely.

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.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Emotions & Feelings 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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