The word for girl in Japanese is 女の子 (onna no ko) and the word for boy is 男の子 (otoko no ko). They're easy to build: take the words for woman and man, add の子 (no ko, "child of"), and you get girl and boy.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 女の子 | onna no ko | girl |
| 男の子 | otoko no ko | boy |
| 女 | onna | woman |
| 男 | otoko | man |
| 子 | ko | child |
How the words are built
女 (woman) + の + 子 (child) = 女の子, girl.
男 (man) + の + 子 (child) = 男の子, boy.
The everyday word for a girl. People also use it casually for young women, a bit like "the girls" in English.
The everyday word for a boy. Add たち (tachi) for a group: 男の子たち, the boys.
Can't read おんなのこ yet?
Learn hiragana with picture mnemonics in the Dr. Moku app.
Other ways to say girl, boy, woman and man
Woman and man, politely. On their own, 女 and 男 can sound blunt about adults, so use these (or 女の人 onna no hito, "woman") instead.
Girls and boys in school, sports and categories, like "women's" and "men's". Adults use 女子会 (joshikai) for a girls' night out.
Girl and boy in a more literary way. You'll know them from manga: shōjo manga is aimed at girls, shōnen manga at boys.
Memory tricks for the kanji
男 (man) is a rice field 田 on top of power 力: the person doing the heavy work in the field.
子 (child) looks like a baby with its arms stretched out.
女 (woman) is traditionally drawn as a person kneeling with crossed legs.