離群索居

Chinese

		to leave a group	to isolate oneself from the crowd and live alone
trad. (離群索居/離羣索居)		離群/離羣	索居
simp. (离群索居)		离群	索居

Etymology

From the Book of Rites, Book 3（《禮記·檀弓上》）:

子夏投其杖而拜，曰：「吾過矣！吾過矣！吾離群而索居亦已久矣！」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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子夏投其杖而拜，曰：「吾过矣！吾过矣！吾离群而索居亦已久矣！」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zǐxià tóu qí zhàng ér bài, yuē: “Wú guò yǐ! Wú guò yǐ! Wú líqún ér suǒjū yì yǐjiǔ yǐ!” [Pinyin]

​Zixia threw down his staff, and bowed, saying, "I was wrong, I was wrong. It is a long time since I left the herd, and lived apart here."

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): líqúnsuǒjū

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄧˊ ㄑㄩㄣˊ ㄙㄨㄛˇ ㄐㄩ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): lei⁴ kwan⁴ sok³ geoi¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: líqúnsuǒjū
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄧˊ ㄑㄩㄣˊ ㄙㄨㄛˇ ㄐㄩ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: lícyúnsuǒjyu
    • Wade–Giles: li²-chʻün²-so³-chü¹
    • Yale: lí-chyún-swǒ-jyū
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lichyunsuoojiu
    • Palladius: лицюньсоцзюй (licjunʹsoczjuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /li³⁵ t͡ɕʰyn³⁵ su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕy⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: lei⁴ kwan⁴ sok³ geoi¹
    • Yale: lèih kwàhn sok gēui
    • Cantonese Pinyin: lei⁴ kwan⁴ sok⁸ goey¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: léi⁴ kuen⁴ sog³ gêu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lei̯²¹ kʷʰɐn²¹ sɔːk̚³ kɵy̯⁵⁵/

Idiom

離群索居

1. to isolate oneself from the crowd and live life alone; to keep to oneself