孤児

• 読み: こじ
• ローマ字: koji
• 漢字の分解: 孤 (ko) — alone, orphaned; 児 (ji) — child
• 発音: /ko.dʑi/

意味

Orphan. A child who has lost both parents or has been abandoned.

A noun (also used as a no-adjective) referring to a child without parents. Used in social welfare, literature, and historical contexts. Common collocations include 戦争孤児 (war orphan), 孤児院 (orphanage), and 孤児になる (to become an orphan). Can also be read as みなしご in more literary or traditional contexts. Sometimes used metaphorically to describe someone cut off from social support.

例文

1. 戦争で多くの孤児が生まれた。
2. 彼女は孤児院で育った経験を語った。
3. 震災後に孤児となった子どもたちを支援する活動がある。

使い方ガイド

場面: social welfare, literature, history

トーン: solemn

起源と歴史

From Sino-Japanese 孤 (ko, alone/orphaned) + 児 (ji, child). 孤 depicts a melon (瓜) and a child (子), symbolising a small, isolated being. Can also be read as みなしご in native Japanese.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal