Usage patterns 〈 人ひと 〉 が 孤こ 独どく を 感かん じる for someone to feel lonely
He felt lonely in the big city.
孤こ 独どく に 陥おちい る to fall into loneliness
After retiring, he fell into loneliness.
孤こ 独どく と 向む き 合あ う to confront one's loneliness
Writers often have to come to terms with their loneliness.
孤こ 独どく な 生せい 活かつ を 送おく る to lead a solitary life
She leads a solitary life deep in the mountains.
Kanji 独 single, alone, spontaneously Related words 孤立 stresses being cut off from others socially or physically, while 孤独 focuses on the subjective feeling of being alone.
寂しい is an i-adjective expressing the direct emotional feeling of loneliness, whereas 孤独 is a noun/na-adjective describing the state or condition of being alone.
独りぼっち is a casual, everyday word for being all alone, while 孤独 is a more formal or literary term for solitude or loneliness.
孤独 is a more formal word for isolation or solitude, while 寂しさ emphasizes the emotional feeling of loneliness itself.
孤独 carries an emotional sense of loneliness or isolation, whereas 一人 simply states the neutral fact of being alone.
Word family completely alone in the world; without a single relative
sense of isolation; feeling of loneliness
solitary death; dying alone
lonely and helpless; without anyone to rely on
eremophobia; monophobia
Written forms 孤こ 独どく Usage 100%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency word.
コドク Usage <1%
Etymology Compound of 孤 (ko, 'orphan, alone') and 独 (doku, 'alone, single'). The combination reinforces the meaning of being solitary or isolated.
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