娼婦|しょうふshoufu[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounprostitute
   ある少女しょうじょの職業しょくぎょうは娼婦しょうふだったが、彼女かのじょは自分じぶんのおばあちゃんにこのことを知しられたくなかった。↗

   A certain girl was a prostitute but didn't want her grandma to know.

• Synonym売春婦ばいしゅんふNeutralNeutral and objective: a woman who sells sex as her work. Use this instead of the slightly literary 「娼婦」.
• Synonym遊女ゆうじょNeutralHistorical term for women who sang, danced and sold themselves at post towns and licensed quarters; often evokes the Edo period.
• Synonym女郎じょろうNeutralEdo-period prostitute; a historical word, though today it also serves as an insult.
• SynonymプロスティテュートNeutralLoanword for prostitute, very rarely used; in everyday speech say 「売春婦」.
• Synonym娼妓しょうぎWrittenWritten, historical: licensed prostitutes of old, or women who entertained guests with song and dance at banquets.
• Synonym売女ばいたCasualColloquial and extremely vulgar: a prostitute, or an insult for a woman of loose morals. Avoid using it.
• Synonym売笑婦ばいしょうふWrittenWritten word for a woman who lives by selling smiles; an old euphemism, seldom heard today.
• Synonym醜業婦しゅうぎょうふWrittenWritten term for a woman in the 'ugly trade'; an old pejorative carrying strong discrimination.
• Synonym淫売婦いんばいふWrittenOld written word for a woman who sells sex; strongly contemptuous and rarely used today.
• Related遊び女あそびめWrittenArchaic: a woman who entertained guests with song and dance, or one who sold her body; carries a historical flavor.
• Related賎業婦せんぎょうふWrittenOld pejorative specifically for prostitutes — literally a woman in a lowly trade; strongly discriminatory and no longer used.
• Relatedパン助パンすけCasualSlang pejorative for a prostitute, popular after the war, especially streetwalkers serving US troops; a period word.

For a woman who sells sex, 「娼婦」 is the literary choice; use the objective 「売春婦」 in neutral contexts, 「遊女」 or 「女郎」 for historical settings. 「売女」 and 「淫売婦」 are vulgar slurs; most other listed words are dated written terms.

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

1. 性せいサービスの提供ていきょうで稼かせぐ女性じょせい。