Meaning of 独自
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- alone
How to use 独自
独自 is an adverb, so it goes right before the verb to show someone does an action without company. It often appears with 一个人 for emphasis. Example: 她独自去了北京。(Tā dúzì qù le Běijīng.) She went to Beijing alone.
独 (dú) means single or only, and 自 (zì) means self. Put them together and you get doing something by your single self, which is alone.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 独自 as an adjective after 是 or 很, as in 我很独自. To say you feel lonely use 孤独 (gūdú) or 寂寞 (jìmò), and to say you are by yourself use 我一个人.
独自 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
独 dú · alone · 9 strokes
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自 zì · self · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 独自.
| 自己 | zìjǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 自由 | zìyóu | freedom; liberty; free; unrestricted |
| 来自 | láizì | to come from (a place); From: (in email header) |
| 自行车 | zìxíngchē | bicycle; bike |
| 大自然 | dàzìrán | nature (the natural world) |
| 自然 | zìrán | nature; natural |
| 自从 | zìcóng | since (a time); ever since |
| 亲自 | qīnzì | personally; in person |
| 自动 | zìdòng | automatic; voluntarily |
| 各自 | gèzì | each; respective |
| 自身 | zìshēn | itself; oneself |
| 自觉 | zìjué | to realize; to be aware of; to feel that; to be conscious of (sth relating to oneself); re |
Questions about 独自
What does 独自 mean?
独自 (dúzì) means "alone" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 独自?
独自 is made of 2 characters: 独 (9 strokes), 自 (6 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 独自 an HSK word?
Yes. 独自 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 独自 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 独自 is written 獨自.
What is the difference between 独自 and 单独 (dāndú)?
独自 stresses that a person acts by themselves, with no one alongside. 单独 means separately or one on one, and can also describe things, as in 单独谈谈 (talk privately). 单独 can also be used as an attributive, while 独自 normally only goes before verbs.
Is 独自 formal or casual?
独自 is a bit more written and literary. In everyday speech people more often say 一个人, as in 我一个人去 (wǒ yí ge rén qù), I am going by myself.