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孤苦伶仃

gū kǔ líng dīngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
solitary and impoverished (idiom)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-22aa45b416c30330. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

孤苦伶仃 孤苦伶仃 [gu1 ku3 ling2 ding1] /solitary and impoverished (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 孤
    gū

    lone / lonely

  • 苦
    kǔ

    bitter / hardship / pain / to suffer / to bring suffering to / painstakingly

  • 伶
    líng

    (old) actor / actress / (meaningless bound form)

  • 仃
    dīng

    used in 伶仃[líng dīng]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.