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.]

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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.]

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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): /t͡ɕʰi̯ʊŋ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ʊŋ³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵ li⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • 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/

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• Middle Chinese: gjwieng gjwieng kjet lip

Rime
Character	煢	孑	立
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	群 (30)	見 (28)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	清 (122)	薛 (83)	緝 (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
Baxter	gjwieng	kjet	lip
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/
Bernhard Karlgren	/gi̯wɛŋ/	/ki̯ɛt̚/	/li̯əp̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qióng	jie	lì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	king4	git3	lap6

Idiom

煢煢孑立

1. to stand all alone

Derived terms

• 煢煢孑立，形影相吊 / 茕茕孑立，形影相吊