Jisho

×
57137971bdd3cf053419f6e91a2d6a77
6 Replies ・ Started by hermandshot at 2018-10-10 23:35:48 UTC ・ Last reply by Leebo at 2020-04-19 12:52:29 UTC
This is a discussion about 少女

Difference between 少女 【おとめ】and 乙女 【おとめ】?

When is it appropriate to use 乙女 as opposed to 少女?

57137971bdd3cf053419f6e91a2d6a77
hermandshot at 2018-10-10 23:37:03 UTC

My bad, I meant to say difference between しょうじょ and おとめ. Sorry 'bout that.

6ee23c5fa55b37168c3f360dded0acaa
Leebo at 2018-10-11 00:58:11 UTC

少女 is a word that refers to girls that are somewhat between children and adults. It has a slightly romantic (referring to this definition: of, characterized by, or suggestive of an idealized view of reality) feeling to it. As such, it's not used all that often in everyday language.

乙女 is a word that is used almost exclusively in written language. It has a poetic feeling.

You didn't ask, but hear are some other words for young girls you will hear:
女の子 - used for a wide range of young girls in everyday language
女児 - a word used to refer to elementary school / primary school aged girl (mostly written language)
女子 - covers a wide range of girls from elementary school up, but it has usages that are different from 女の子 (for example, you say 女子トイレ and 女子バスケ部 and not 女の子トイレ or 女の子バスケ部)

Source for most of this: https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/thsrs/4849/meaning/m0u/%E4%B9%99%E5%A5%B3/

6ee23c5fa55b37168c3f360dded0acaa
Leebo at 2018-10-11 01:00:05 UTC

When I said "As such, it's not used all that often in everyday language." for 少女, I just mean relative to neutral (non-romanticized) words such as 女の子 and 女子

F640af5c655c2602f5637245e9cdd867
rusticcitrus at 2020-04-19 12:37:36 UTC

But, is there a difference in meaning between the two readings of 「少女」, 「しょうじょ」 and 「おとめ」?

F640af5c655c2602f5637245e9cdd867
rusticcitrus at 2020-04-19 12:43:23 UTC

Ah OK, I understand now. Both 「少女」 and 「乙女」 can be read as 「おとめ」, but only 「少女」 can be read as 「しょうじょ」. So when Leebo writes, "乙女 means...", they mean the reading 「おとめ」, which can be used for both words.

6ee23c5fa55b37168c3f360dded0acaa
Leebo at 2020-04-19 12:52:29 UTC

おとめ is a non-standard reading for 少女, so if you ever see it, it will almost always be marked with furigana.

to reply.