How to Say “I am lonely” in Chinese
Feelings and opinions · HSK 3
"I am lonely" in Chinese is 我很孤单 (Wǒ hěn gūdān). Three flavors of lonely in Chinese: 孤单 (gūdān) is the everyday 'alone and a bit sad'; safe in any setting. 孤独 (gūdú) is deeper, more existential loneliness, the kind you'd write in a diary.
Primary translation
我很孤单
Wǒ hěn gūdān
Traditional: 我很孤單
Variants by register
Formal
我感到很孤独
Wǒ gǎndào hěn gūdú
Casual
我好寂寞
Wǒ hǎo jìmò
When to use it
Three flavors of lonely in Chinese: 孤单 (gūdān) is the everyday 'alone and a bit sad'; safe in any setting. 孤独 (gūdú) is deeper, more existential loneliness, the kind you'd write in a diary. 寂寞 (jìmò) is emotional, often romantic loneliness; it shows up constantly in pop songs and late-night WeChat messages. Young people on 小红书 (Xiaohongshu) often just type 好孤独啊 with a sad emoji. Don't confuse 孤单 with 单身 (dānshēn), which just means 'single' as in relationship status; plenty of 单身 people aren't 孤单 at all.
Example sentences
一个人在国外，有时候很孤单。
Yī gè rén zài guówài, yǒushíhou hěn gūdān.
Being alone abroad, sometimes I feel lonely.
他虽然朋友很多，但是很孤独。
Tā suīrán péngyǒu hěn duō, dànshì hěn gūdú.
Even though he has many friends, he's lonely.
周末一个人在家，好寂寞。
Zhōumò yī gè rén zài jiā, hǎo jìmò.
Home alone on the weekend; so lonely.