孤单单 (gū dān dān) — lonely; alone; friendless | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

孤零零 is a colloquial, onomatopoeia-flavored adverbial meaning 'all alone, forlornly' — it paints a vivid picture of solitary smallness, more literary and evocative than 孤独 (lonely, emotional state).

verb

lonelyalonefriendless

Examples

，孤单单。
Tā yí gè rén zhù, jué de gū dān dān de.
He lives alone and feels lonely.
孤单单。
Jié rì lǐ tā gū dān dān dì zuò zài chuāng qián.
During the holiday, he sat by the window all alone.
孤单单。
gū dān dān De shēn yǐng xiāo shī zài rén qún zhōng.
The lonely figure disappeared into the crowd.

Origin

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

单单expressive

单dānexpressive单dānexpressive

重叠Reduplication

孤 gives the sense of alone, and the repeated 单单 adds a lonely expressive tone.

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.

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

Emotions & Feelings

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