Chinese

Noun

少女

1. young woman; girl

Japanese

Etymology 1

少女 (shōjo): a girl holding a puppy.

From Middle Chinese compound 少女 ‎(*shiɛu *njiǔ). Compare modern Chinese 少女 ‎(shàonǚ).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• しょ​うじょ (Atamadaka)^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɕo̞ːd͡ʑo̞]

Noun

少女 ‎(hiragana しょうじょ, romaji shōjo, historical hiragana せうぢよ)

1. a (young, little) girl
2. (anime, manga) a style of anime and manga made for young women, shojo

Derived terms

See also

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 乙 ‎(oto, “young, little”) +‎ 女 ‎(me, “female, girl”).^[2][1] Compare 男 ‎(otoko, “man”), originally meaning "young boy".

Alternative forms

• 乙女

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• おと​め (Nakadaka)^[1]
• IPA^(key): [o̞to̞me̞]

Noun

少女 ‎(hiragana おとめ, romaji otome)

1. a young woman, adult but unmarried: a maiden
2. a girl
3. a female virgin
4. (mythology) a celestial maiden, a fairy, a nymph
5. (Shintō) a young woman dancer performing at the 五節 ‎(Gosechi) ceremony in the eleventh lunar month

Derived terms

See also

• 男 (おとこ, ​otoko): a man

References

1. 1 2 3 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

Korean

Noun

少女 • ‎(sonyeo) ‎(hangeul 소녀)

1. Hanja form^? of 소녀, “girl”.

Vietnamese

Noun

少女

1. Hán tự form of thiếu nữ, “young woman; girl”