少女
shōjo[ɕo̞ːʑo̞]
In Japanese, shojo refers to a style of anime and manga. If unsure, use 少女 (shōjo). Wiktionary also lists 少女漫画 (shōjo-manga).
Meaning: style of anime and manga (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 少女 | shōjo | [ɕo̞ːʑo̞] (narrow) [o̞to̞me̞] (narrow) |
| 少女漫画 | shōjo-manga |
While 少女 (shōjo) literally means girl, in the context of media, it refers to a specific demographic and artistic style targeted at young females.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 少女 is composed of the characters for young woman/girl (少) and woman/female (女).
Which one should you use?
少女 is the term for girl, whereas the full term for the genre of manga is 少女漫画 (shōjo manga).
How do you pronounce it?
shōjo
Did you know?
- The Japanese word for 'man' otoko shares a common linguistic root with the ancient term for 'young' used to form 少女.
- The visual language of shojo manga frequently uses 'decorative' backgrounds such as flowers and bubbles to represent a character's emotional state.
- While shojo describes a target audience of young girls, many adults in Japan read shojo manga and some men identify as fans of the genre.
Examples in context
- 彼女は美しい少女です。She is a beautiful girl.
- その少女はとても優雅です。That girl is very elegant.
Example conversation
Two friends are browsing a bookstore together.
- 蓮 Ren美咲、この漫画は何のジャンル？Misaki, kono manga wa nan no janru?Misaki, what genre is this manga?
- 美咲 Misakiそれは少女だよ。とても人気があるよ。Sore wa shojo dayo. Totemo ninki ga aru yo.That is shojo. It is very popular.
- 蓮 Ren蓮は少女を読んだことがないな。Ren wa shojo o yonda koto ga nai na.Ren has never read shojo before.
- 美咲 Misakiぜひ読んでみて！面白いから。Zehi yonde mite! Omoshiroi kara.You should definitely try reading it! Because it's interesting.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “shojo” translations and entries 少女, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 少女, CC BY-SA 4.0.
