(jì mò) - lonely, lonesome; loneliness in Mandarin
jìmòTraditional: 寂寞
Translation
lonely, lonesome; loneliness
Word origin
A compound of 寂 (jì, silent, still) and 寞 (mò, quiet, deserted). Both characters sit under the roof radical 宀, so the picture is of an empty house.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 寂 (jì, silent) + 寞 (mò, deserted)
Stroke order
寂
寞
Examples
。
It feels a bit lonely at home on your own.
。
He is not afraid of being lonely.
冬。
The seafront in winter feels desolate.
。
She keeps the loneliness at bay with music.
。
Those days were long and lonely.
寂寞 (jì mò) is the felt emptiness of being alone. It takes degree adverbs like any adjective (很寂寞, 有点寂寞) and doubles as a noun, so 害怕寂寞 and 赶走寂寞 are both natural. It also stretches to places: a shut-up seaside town in February is 寂寞.
Set it against 孤独 (gū dú), which is the closest rival. 孤独 is the structural fact of being cut off, and it can be dignified or even chosen; 寂寞 is the ache of wanting company and not having it. A hermit is 孤独, a teenager on a Friday night is 寂寞.
The trap is 一个人. English alone and lonely are different words, and Chinese draws the line just as sharply: 我一个人在家 simply reports that nobody else is in, while 我很寂寞 is a confession. Do not upgrade one to the other by accident.
Where this fits
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寂寞: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "寂寞" (lonely, lonesome; loneliness): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 59.