also: みなしご
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.
彼女は幼いころに両親を亡くし、孤児になった。
She lost her parents when she was young and became an orphan.
その団体は孤児
The organization continues to support orphans.
noun
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.
派閥を失ったその議員は、党内で孤児となった。
After losing his faction, the legislator became isolated within the party.
Attested special reading for the same kanji spelling; much less straightforward for learners than こじ.
Kana spelling is a practical way to write the native word みなしご and avoids the irregularity of みなし子.
Mixed kana-kanji spelling for みなしご; it has irregular kanji usage.
Attested short kanji form with the special reading みなしご; rare and mainly useful for recognition.
Also refers to a child left behind by a deceased parent, often used in contexts such as war, disaster, or a parent’s death; 孤児 focuses more generally on being orphaned or without parental care.
Means isolation or being cut off. It can describe the figurative situation behind sense 2, but it is not specifically a noun for a person.
Casual expression for being all alone or lonely; unlike 孤児, it does not mean an orphan and is more emotional and everyday.
孤児 is a Sino-Japanese compound: 孤 conveys being alone or orphaned, and 児 means child. The reading みなしご is a special/native-style reading associated with the same meaning; no detailed historical derivation is specified.