How do you say "orphan" in Chinese?

孤儿

gū ér

Noun Hanzi

In Chinese, "orphan" is 孤儿 (gū ér).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

You'll want to say "gū ér" so that "gū" is flat and level, held steady (tone 1), then "ér" is rising sharply like a question (tone 2).

Writing and usage

孤儿 is written using hanzi. It's a noun, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.

Example sentence

善良的家庭收养了孤儿。

shàn liáng de jiā tíng shōu yǎng le gū ér 。

The kind family adopted the orphan.

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How to remember 孤儿

Notice how "gū ér" rolls off the tongue, and tie that feeling to a quick mental picture of "孤儿" (gū ér).

Related words

Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.

Questions about 孤儿

How do you pronounce 孤儿?

You'll want to say "gū ér" so that "gū" is flat and level, held steady (tone 1), then "ér" is rising sharply like a question (tone 2).

Is 孤儿 formal or casual?

孤儿 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is 孤儿 used in Chinese?

孤儿 is used the same way as the equivalent English noun. For example: 善良的家庭收养了孤儿。 (The kind family adopted the orphan.).

Where can I practice Chinese words for free?

You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Orphan" in other languages

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This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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