独 dú alone
alone; independent; only; single; solitary; sole
怎么记住“独”: 犭 dog + 虫 insect = alone. The old dog sniffs a single insect in the empty yard, since everyone has gone on holiday and left him alone.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
originally 犬 + 蜀
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
独 = 犭 dog + 虫 insect
- 犭 dog meaning
- 虫 insect shape only
The old dog sniffs a single insect in the empty yard, since everyone has gone on holiday and left him alone.
How it came to be
In the full form, the dog gives the meaning and the right part the sound; dogs, unlike sheep, go alone.
用法
- Means alone, sole, or independent, but the compounds it forms are not interchangeable: 单独 dāndú describes doing something physically separately/by oneself (单独谈谈 "talk one-on-one"), 独自 dúzì is a more literary way to say "alone" while performing an action (独自旅行 "travel alone"), and 孤独 gūdú describes the emotional feeling of loneliness, not physical solitude.
- 独立 dúlì (independent) is the standard word for personal, national, or financial independence.
- 唯独 wéidú means "only, solely" in the sense of singling out one exception among many: a slightly formal connector.