孤家寡人
gū jiā guǎ rén
someone left all alone, without friends or support
Character by character
孤gū
lone
lone
家jiā
house
house
寡guǎ
lacking
lacking
人rén
man
man
Example
他对谁都不信任，把身边的人都得罪光了，最后成了孤家寡人。
He trusted nobody and offended everyone around him, and in the end he was left on his own.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
Ancient kings humbly called themselves 孤 “the orphaned one” and 寡人 “the man of little virtue”. Today it is said of anyone who has driven everyone away; jokingly, of someone single.
Learn this in Lesson 96 · HSK 6–7: 从乞丐到皇帝：明朝 (From beggar to emperor: the Ming)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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