orphelin
/ɔʁ.fə.lɛ̃/masculine
The French word for orphan is orphelin.
The term refers to a person whose parent or parents have died.
Meaning: person whose (parent or) parents have died (noun)
Which one should you use?
orphelin is the masculine form. Use orpheline when referring to a female orphan.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun changes based on gender and number. Use orphelin for a masculine orphan, orpheline for a feminine orphan, orphelins for a group of masculine or mixed-gender orphans and orphelines for a group of feminine orphans.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has three syllables and is pronounced /ɔʁ.fə.lɛ̃/.
Did you know?
- The term orphelin is sometimes used in technical French to describe a single word or short line left alone at the beginning or end of a page in typography.
- In French, the term orphelin can be used metaphorically to describe a project, a law or an idea that has been abandoned by its creator and has no one to support it.
- French speakers use the phrase être orphelin de to express a deep sense of missing something essential, such as orphelin de sa patrie for someone who feels they have lost their homeland.
Examples in context
- Il a adopté l'orphelin.He adopted the orphan.The first sentence shows the use of orphelin in the context of adoption.Tatoeba #131015 by nimfeo, translation #290768 by CK
- J'ai adopté un orphelin.I adopted an orphan.The second sentence demonstrates the use of orphelin with an indefinite article.Tatoeba #2910842 by Amastan, translation #3650069 by karloelkebekio
- Il a adopté cette orpheline.He adopted that orphan girl.The third sentence is useful for seeing how to refer to a specific orphan girl, though the example text uses orpheline.Tatoeba #11059045 by Aiji, translation #9335826 by AlanF_US
- L'association s'occupe des orphelins.The association takes care of the orphans.
- Ils ont créé un orphelinat pour aider les orphelins.They created an orphanage to help the orphans.
- Elle est une enfant sans parents.She is a child without parents.
- 18 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a character in a book.
- ManonLe personnage principal est un orphelin.The main character is an orphan.
- LucasC'est donc un garçon orphelin ?So, he is an orphan boy?
- ManonOui, il n'a plus de parents.Yes, he has no parents left.
- LucasC'est une histoire très triste.It is a very sad story.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “orphan” translations and entries orphelin, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
