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Kanji for Alone
The kanji most commonly used for "Alone" are 独、孤.
独
Kanji that mean Alone
独 (doku / hitori) is alone as independence — 独立 is standing alone (independence), 独学 is teaching yourself, 独身 is single life, and 独り is one person by themselves. The register runs neutral to admirable: a 独走 is a runaway solo lead. (By historical accident the same character abbreviates Germany, 独 — dictionary neighbours are sometimes just neighbours.)
孤 (ko) is alone as isolation — the child radical 子 beside a gourd hanging solitary on its vine: 孤独 (kodoku) is loneliness; 孤児 an orphan; 孤島 a solitary island; 孤高 — “alone and high” — is the honourable solitude of one who stands apart rather than joins the herd, said of artists and mountain birds alike.
Japanese lets you choose your solitude: 独 the chosen kind, 孤 the felt kind, and 孤高 the kind worn as a crown. The tea masters added their blessing: 侘び — beauty in solitary insufficiency.
Words using Alone kanji
Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.
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独立
どくりつ
independence; self-reliance; supporting oneself
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孤立
こりつ
isolation; being alone; being friendless
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独自
どくじ
original; unique; distinctive
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孤独
こどく
solitude; loneliness; isolation
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単独
たんどく
sole; single; solo
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孤児院
こじいん
orphanage
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独特
どくとく
peculiarity; uniqueness; characteristic
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独立国
どくりつこく
independent state; independent nation
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独占
どくせん
monopoly; monopolization; exclusivity
Before you use Alone kanji
独 reads as self-reliance — 独立, one's own feet — and is the confident choice. 孤 alone reads as "isolated" and tips melancholy; but 孤高 ("lofty solitude") flips it into dignity: the lone wolf as noble, and is the phrase actually admired in Japanese. 孤独 spells loneliness — wear it only if you mean it.