孤 (gū): lone, lonely
孤 (gū) is a Chinese character meaning “lone.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 子 (semantic) and 瓜 (phonetic). It ranks #1326 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 孤 child. Its radical form 子 (child) appears in many related characters such as 子 (zǐ, son), 字 (zì, letter), 学 (xué, to learn).
Definitions
- lone
- lonely
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 孤 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 孤
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 孤单 | gū dān | lone |
| 孤儿 | gū ér | orphan |
| 孤儿院 | gū ér yuàn | orphanage |
| 孤立 | gū lì | to isolate |
| 孤僻 | gū pì | antisocial |
| 孤零零 | gū líng líng | lone |
| 孤注一掷 | gū zhù yī zhì | to stake all on one throw |
| 孤军奋战 | gū jūn fèn zhàn | lit. lone army putting up a brave fight (idiom) |
| 孤立无援 | gū lì wú yuán | isolated and without help |
| 一意孤行 | yī yì gū xíng | obstinately clinging to one's course (idiom) |
| 孤岛 | gū dǎo | isolated island |
| 孤寂 | gū jì | lonesome |
| 孤身 | gū shēn | alone |
| 孤魂 | gū hún | lonely soul |
| 孤苦伶仃 | gū kǔ líng dīng | solitary and impoverished (idiom) |
孤 appears in 66 compound words: 82 as the first character, 6 as the last, and 12 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 孤 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (17)
wandering soul that is unable to reincarnate; one who is in difficult circumstances and has nobody to lean on
lone army putting up a brave fight; fighting alone without help; struggling hard without support
wandering soul that is unable to reincarnate; one who is in difficult circumstances and has nobody to lean on
Showing 12 of 17 idioms containing 孤.
Example Sentences
这个孤字在古汉语中有不同的含义。
zhè gě gū zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .
The character "孤" carries different meanings in classical Chinese.
汶航斋月行善暖人心系列义举惠及贫户与孤儿
汶 háng 斋 yuè háng shàn nuǎn rén xīn xì liè yì jǔ huì jí pín hù yǔ gū ér
Wenhang's Series of Charitable Acts During Ramadan Warms Hearts, Benefiting the Poor and Orphans
...进会再献爱心筹获逾10万500元助皇太子孤儿基金
. . . jìn huì zài xiàn ài xīn chóu huò yú 1 0 wàn 5 0 0 yuán zhù huáng tài zǐ gū ér jī jīn
...Members once again showed their generosity, raising over 100,500 yuan for the Crown Prince Orphans Fund
冬奥/美国队冰球夺金举已故队友球衣 遗孤合照共享荣耀
dōng ào měi guó duì bīng qiú duó jīn jǔ yǐ gù duì yǒu qiú yī yí gū gě zhào gòng xiǎng róng yào
Winter Olympics/U.S. team ice hockey gold lifted the jersey of the deceased teammate and took a group photo of the orphan to share the glory
...圆剩祖母身影 中国女子感慨:热闹过后难免孤寂
. . . yuán shèng zǔ mǔ shēn yǐng zhōng guó nǚ zǐ gǎn kǎi : rè nào guò hòu nán miǎn gū jì
... The figure of the grandmother of the Chinese woman sighed: Loneliness is inevitable after the excitement
青壮阵亡、人口外逃 乌克兰沦“孤儿寡母之国”
qīng zhuàng zhèn wáng , rén kǒu wài táo wū kè lán 沦 gū ér guǎ mǔ zhī guó
Young and strong people died and people fled, and Ukraine became a "country of orphans and widows"
退休后，德蕾莎投身照顾孤儿的工作。
Tuìxiū hòu, Délěishā tóushēn zhàogu gū'ér de gōngzuò.
After retirement, Teresa devoted herself to caring for orphans.
说实话，我感到孤独。
Shuōshíhuà, wǒ gǎndào gūdú.
To tell the truth, I felt lonely.
好几间小屋被洪水孤立起来了。
Hǎojǐ jiān xiǎowū bèi hóngshuǐ gūlì qǐlai le.
Several cottages have been isolated by the flood water.
孤独的人会孤独，是因为他畏惧他人。
Gūdú de rén huì gūdú, shì yīnwèi tā wèijù tārén.
Lonely people perpetuate their own loneliness through their fear of others.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 孤 (gū) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 孤 and 弧?
How many strokes does 孤 have?
What is the radical of 孤?
What are the components of 孤?
What are common words containing 孤?
What characters sound the same as 孤 (gū)?
Is 孤 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 孤 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.