孤児
also: みなしご
Meanings
noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
A child who has lost one or both parents, especially a child left without parental care. 孤児 is the standard Sino-Japanese form; みなしご is a more native-sounding variant.
She lost her parents when she was young and became an orphan.
The organization continues to support orphans.
person without friends or allies; isolated person
Only with reading こじ
Figurative use, read こじ: someone left without friends, allies, supporters, or a group to belong to. This is more limited than the literal “orphan” sense.
After losing his faction, the legislator became isolated within the party.
Usage patterns
- 〈事〉で孤児になるto become an orphan because of <event>
Many children became orphans because of the war.
- 孤児を育てるto raise/foster an orphan
They raised the orphan as their adopted child.
- 〈人〉を孤児にするto leave someone orphaned
The accident left the children orphaned.