Chinese word

单独

Pronunciation

Pinyindān dú

Meaning

  • adverbalone

Example

她要单独去超市。tā yào dān dú qù chāo shì

She wants to go to the supermarket alone.

Illustration for 单独 (alone)

More examples

在会议上，她单独发言，提出了不同意见。zài huì yì shàng tā dān dú fā yán tí chū le bù tóng yì jiàn

At the meeting, she spoke alone and put forward a different opinion.

Core concept

A single person or action stands apart from companions, support, or a larger group.

Common phrases

  • 单独旅行dān dú lǚ xíng

    travel alone

  • 单独发言dān dú fā yán

    speak alone

  • 单独做决定dān dú zuò jué dìng

    make a decision alone

Similar words

一个人yí gè rén: By oneself, with no one else present or joining in, in everyday speech.
独自dú zì: Independently, without help or involvement from others, especially in formal writing.

Definition in Chinese

一个人没有同伴或帮助，独自进行某个动作或处于无人陪伴的状态。yí gè rén méi yǒu tóng bàn huò bāng zhù dú zì jìn xíng mǒu gè dòng zuò huò chǔ yú wú rén péi bàn de zhuàng tài

Word origin

单独 (dāndú, "alone") combines 单 (dān, "single") + 独 (dú, "alone"), making one person acting apart from others easy to picture.

Usage tips

  • As an adverb, it normally comes before the verb or verb phrase, which makes the intended scope clear in short everyday sentences.

Other meanings

  • independentlyadverb
  • separatelyadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word