孑然一身

jiérán-yìshēn

idiom

Meanings

HSK 5

老人的亲人都去世了，如今孑然一身。

Lǎorén de qīnrén dōu qùshì le, rújīn jiérán-yìshēn.

All the old man's family have died, and now he is alone in the world.

HSK 7-9

他孑然一身来到这座城市，靠自己闯出了一片天地。

Tā jiérán-yìshēn láidào zhè zuò chéngshì, kào zìjǐ chuǎngchū le yí piàn tiāndì.

He came to this city with no one, and carved out a place for himself on his own.

Literary. Everyday speech says 孤零零 "all alone" or 无依无靠 "with no one to turn to".

memory

孑 looks like 子 "child" with one arm missing: a picture of someone left on their own.

孑 jié

然 rán

一 yī

身 shēn