煢煢孑立

Chinese

	solitary; lonely; all alone	to be alone; to stand in isolation
trad. (煢煢孑立)	煢煢	孑立
simp. (茕茕孑立)	茕茕	孑立
alternative forms	㷀㷀孑立惸惸孑立睘睘孑立嬛嬛孑立

Etymology

The ideophonic component 煢煢 has been attested in various forms, e.g. 睘睘 (OC *ɡʷeŋ ɡʷeŋ), as early as the Book of Poetry. One of the earliest idiomatic attestation was in a fu composition by Zhang Heng (《思玄賦》, "Deep Contemplations"):

何孤行之煢煢兮，孑不群而介立。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

何孤行之茕茕兮，孑不群而介立。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: c. 2nd century, Zhang Heng (張衡), Deep Contemplations (《思玄賦》)

Hé gūxíng zhī qióngqióng xī, jié bùqún ér jièlì. [Pinyin]

What a desolate path I tread alone,
What forlorn stance my isolation is.

As chengyu it was arguably popularised with the publication of Li Mi's petition to the Emperor Wu of Jin [267]:

外無期功強近之親，內無應門五尺之僮；煢煢孑立，形影相弔。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

外无期功强近之亲，内无应门五尺之僮；茕茕孑立，形影相吊。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: 267, Li Mi, A Petition Regarding My True Circumstances (《陳情表》)

Wài wú jīgōng qiǎngjìn zhī qīn, nèi wú yìngmén wǔchǐ zhī tóng; qióngqióng jiélì, xíngyǐng xiàngdiào. [Pinyin]

Outside there is none I may venture to call a relative, and inside there is not even a servant boy to help. A complete isolation is my existence; only my figure and its shadow console each other.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): qióngqióngjiélì
(Zhuyin): ㄑㄩㄥˊ ㄑㄩㄥˊ ㄐㄧㄝˊ ㄌㄧˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): king⁴ king⁴ kit³ laap⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qióngqióngjiélì
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄩㄥˊ ㄑㄩㄥˊ ㄐㄧㄝˊ ㄌㄧˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: cyóngcyóngjiélì
  - Wade–Giles: chʻiung²-chʻiung²-chieh²-li⁴
  - Yale: chyúng-chyúng-jyé-lì
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chyongchyongjyelih
  - Palladius: цюнцюнцзели (cjuncjunczeli)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰjʊŋ³⁵ t͡ɕʰjʊŋ³⁵ t͡ɕjɛ³⁵ li⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: king⁴ king⁴ kit³ laap⁶
  - Yale: kìhng kìhng kit laahp
  - Cantonese Pinyin: king⁴ king⁴ kit⁸ laap⁹
  - Guangdong Romanization: king⁴ king⁴ kid³ lab⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰɪŋ²¹ kʰɪŋ²¹ kʰiːt̚³ laːp̚²/

Middle Chinese: /ɡwiᴇŋ ɡwiᴇŋ kˠiᴇt̚ liɪp̚/

Rime
Character	煢	孑	立
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	群 (30)	見 (28)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	清 (122)	仙 (83)	侵 (141)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Checked (Ø)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III	III
Fanqie	渠營切	居列切	力入切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɡwiᴇŋ/	/kˠiᴇt̚/	/liɪp̚/
Pan Wuyun	/ɡʷiɛŋ/	/kᵚiɛt̚/	/lip̚/
Shao Rongfen	/ɡiuæŋ/	/kiæt̚/	/ljep̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/gwiajŋ/	/kiat̚/	/lip̚/
Li Rong	/ɡiuɛŋ/	/kjɛt̚/	/liəp̚/
Wang Li	/ɡĭwɛŋ/	/kĭɛt̚/	/lĭĕp̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/gi̯wɛŋ/	/ki̯ɛt̚/	/li̯əp̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qióng	jie	lì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	king⁴	git³	lap⁶

Idiom

煢煢孑立

to stand all alone

Derived terms

煢煢孑立，形影相吊／茕茕孑立，形影相吊