兀立

wùlì

verb

Meanings

HSK 7-9

一棵古松兀立在山顶。

Yī kē gǔsōng wùlì zài shāndǐng.

An old pine stands alone atop the mountain.

HSK 7-9

他兀立在风雪中，一动不动。

Tā wùlì zài fēngxuě zhōng, yīdòng-bùdòng.

He stood motionless in the wind and snow.

Literary. Unlike the everyday 站立, 兀立 carries a sense of solitary stillness - a single tree, a stone pillar, a figure against an empty backdrop.

memory

兀 (wù) by itself depicts something with a flat top - bare, prominent, alone. 兀立 = 'stand bare and prominent.'

兀 wù

立 lì