<p>There is no 「虫」 (<em>venomous snake; insect</em>) in the character, that is an abbreviation used in Simplified Chinese. The orthodox character is 「獨」.</p>
<hr />
<p>「獨」 is made up of semantic 「犬・犭」 (<em>dog &gt; beast</em>) and phonetic 「蜀」 (Mandarin Pinyin: <strong>shǔ</strong>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese#Li_(1971)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Li Fang-Kuei OC</a>: <strong>/*djuk/</strong>), originally representing the name of a mythical beast. From the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_of_Mountains_and_Seas#Contents" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Classic of Mountains and Seas: Classic of the Mountains: North</em></a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<h3>《山海經・北山經・北次二經》</h3>
<p>……曰北嚻之山，無石，其陽多碧，其陰多玉。有獸焉，其狀如虎，而白身犬首，馬尾彘鬛，名曰獨。……</p>
<p>...<em>It is called the Mountain of</em> 北嚻. <em>This mountain is without boulders; its southern side is abundant with green jade, and its northern side is abundant with nephrite. There is a beast in this mountain, shaped like a tiger with a white body; it has the head of a dog, tail of a horse, and neck-bristles of a boar. Its name is</em> 「獨」...</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/knNEG.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/knNEG.png" alt="獨" /></a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>「獨」 were two characters created specifically to represent the name of this beast (Mandarin Pinyin: <strong>dú gǔ</strong>, Li Fang-Kuei OC: <strong>/*duk kuk/</strong>), which consists of two <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduplication" rel="nofollow noreferrer">reduplicated</a> syllables.</p>
<hr />
<p>The meaning <em>alone, solitary</em> for the character 「獨」 is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus#Rebus_principle" rel="nofollow noreferrer">rebus borrowing</a> for this word; there were other borrowed characters for this word in the pre-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Qín</a> era, most prominently</p>
<ul>
<li>「蜀」 itself;</li>
<li>「鹿」</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p><strong>References</strong>:</p>
<ul>
<li>《王力古漢語字典》</li>
<li><a href="https://inscription.asdc.sinica.edu.tw/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">先秦甲骨金文簡牘詞彙資料庫</a></li>
<li><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/shangguyin" rel="nofollow noreferrer">小學堂上古音</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-02T09:56:13.790Z
2021-03-02T10:10:59.717Z
2021-03-02T10:10:59.717Z
dROOOze
<p>I am learning the word 独 dú alone.</p>
<p>Dog plus Insect become alone? Any ancient history or story behind this?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-02T08:03:17.063Z
If you're planning to learn Chinese Characters through exploring character structure, Simplified Chinese is going to make life very difficult for you.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-02T08:14:57.540Z
Added 〔獨〕. I think this is traditional character. Will this traditional character helps? Thanks for your replies
user27485
<glyph-origin>
Why 独 〔獨〕 dú is alone?
# Why 独 〔獨〕 dú is alone?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-03-02)

I am learning the word 独 dú alone.

Dog plus Insect become alone? Any ancient history or story behind this?

**Tags:** glyph-origin

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If you're planning to learn Chinese Characters through exploring character structure, Simplified Chinese is going to make life very difficult for you.  
> **username_0**: Added 〔獨〕. I think this is traditional character. Will this traditional character helps? Thanks for your replies  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-03-02. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

There is no 「虫」 (*venomous snake; insect*) in the character, that is an abbreviation used in Simplified Chinese. The orthodox character is 「獨」.

---

「獨」 is made up of semantic 「犬・犭」 (*dog > beast*) and phonetic 「蜀」 (Mandarin Pinyin: **shǔ**, [Li Fang-Kuei OC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese#Li_(1971)): **/\*djuk/**), originally representing the name of a mythical beast. From the [*Classic of Mountains and Seas: Classic of the Mountains: North*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_of_Mountains_and_Seas#Contents):

> ### 《山海經・北山經・北次二經》
>
> ……曰北嚻之山，無石，其陽多碧，其陰多玉。有獸焉，其狀如虎，而白身犬首，馬尾彘鬛，名曰獨。……
>
> ...*It is called the Mountain of* 北嚻. *This mountain is without boulders; its southern side is abundant with green jade, and its northern side is abundant with nephrite. There is a beast in this mountain, shaped like a tiger with a white body; it has the head of a dog, tail of a horse, and neck-bristles of a boar. Its name is* 「獨」...
>
> [![獨](https://i.sstatic.net/knNEG.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/knNEG.png)

「獨」 were two characters created specifically to represent the name of this beast (Mandarin Pinyin: **dú gǔ**, Li Fang-Kuei OC: **/\*duk kuk/**), which consists of two [reduplicated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduplication) syllables.

---

The meaning *alone, solitary* for the character 「獨」 is a [rebus borrowing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus#Rebus_principle) for this word; there were other borrowed characters for this word in the pre-[Qín](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty) era, most prominently

* 「蜀」 itself;
* 「鹿」

---

**References**:

* 《王力古漢語字典》
* [先秦甲骨金文簡牘詞彙資料庫](https://inscription.asdc.sinica.edu.tw/)
* [小學堂上古音](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/shangguyin)


---

