孤独感 (gū dú gǎn) — sense of loneliness; feeling of loneliness

Definition

noun
sense of lonelinessfeeling of loneliness

Examples

  • ,孤独感。
    Lí kāi jiā xiāng hòu, tā nèi xīn chōng mǎn le gū dú gǎn.
    After leaving his hometown, his heart was filled with a sense of loneliness.
  • ,孤独感。
    Jí shǐ shēn chǔ rén qún zhī zhōng, gū dú gǎn réng rán huī zhī bú qù.
    Even when surrounded by people, the feeling of loneliness still lingers.
  • 孤独感。
    Cháng qī quē fá shè jiāo huì jiā jù gū dú gǎn.
    Long-term lack of social interaction can intensify the sense of loneliness.

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.

孤独lonely
孤gūalone独dúalone
联合Side by side
感gǎnfeeling

孤 and 独 both mean alone; with 感 (feeling) they form a feeling of loneliness.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
子子zǐchild
Sound part声符shēngfú
瓜
瓜guā孤gū
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.

Open 孤 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
蜀
蜀shǔ獨dú
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.

Open 独 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
咸
咸xián感gǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

感 pairs 咸, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart, for feeling.

Open 感 →

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