ガールgaaru

1. noungirl

• Synonym少女しょうじょWrittenWritten/formal prose word for a young girl, usually around 7 to 17. 「ガール」 is a loanword used mostly in compounds such as 「ガールフレンド」.
• Synonym女の子おんなのこCasualColloquial and the everyday default for a girl or young woman. 「ガール」 seldom stands alone; it appears in compounds or with a fashionable feel.
• Related娘むすめNeutralNeutral word for a young woman or Miss, mostly as a suffix as in 「お嬢さん」「受付嬢」. 「ガール」 leans toward loanword compounds.
• Related女児じょじWrittenWritten/formal prose term for a small girl, common in news, statistics and official documents. 「ガール」 belongs to trendy compounds with a colloquial feel.
• RelatedギャルCasualColloquial loanword for a flashily dressed young woman, a gyaru, and by extension any girl. 「ガール」 is more general and carries no style color.
• Related乙女おとめWrittenWritten/formal prose word for a young maiden with a pure, romantic nuance, as in 「乙女心」. 「ガール」 is trendier and lacks this refined flavor.
• RelatedヤングレディーNeutralNeutral loanword for a young woman, especially an unmarried one; rare. 「ガール」 sounds younger and livelier and is far more common.
• AntonymボーイNeutralNeutral loanword for a boy, also a male waiter. In the sense of boy it is the direct opposite of 「ガール」.

Use 「ガール」 in loanword compounds like 「ガールズトーク」. For everyday girls say 「女の子」, for girls about 7–17 「少女」, for a pure maiden 「乙女」, for a gyaru 「ギャル」; the opposite is 「ボーイ」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 女の子おんなのこ。