老女|ろうじょroujo[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounelderly woman
   老女ろうじょは御客おきゃくをじろじろ見みた。↗

   The old woman studied the visitor carefully.
2. nounsenior lady-in-waiting

• SynonymおばあさんCasualGrandmother (either side) or an elderly woman generally; the everyday spoken word, where 「老女」 is a written, objective term.
• Synonym老婦ろうふWrittenAn elderly woman; written style, not very common, with the same objective, descriptive flavor as 「老女」.
• Synonym老婆ろうばWrittenAn old woman in written style; slightly cold in tone and rare in modern usage — news reports prefer 「高齢女性」.
• SynonymばあさんCasualGrandma or an old woman, more casual than 「おばあさん」; colloquial, and also a husband's way of referring to his wife.
• SynonymばばCasualAn old hag — contemptuous and rude, effectively an insult; colloquial, so avoid using it about people.
• SynonymおばあさまFormalA respectful way to speak of or to a grandmother or elderly woman; politer than 「おばあさん」.
• Related姥うばWrittenAn old woman, or the noh mask of an old woman; archaic, found mostly in folk tales.
• Related嫗おうなWrittenAn old woman, the counterpart of 「翁」 (old man); archaic and almost never used in modern Japanese.
• RelatedばばあCasualAn old hag — contemptuous and rude, effectively an insult; colloquial, so avoid using it about people.
• Related老媼ろうおうWrittenAn old woman; extremely literary and rarely used.
• Antonym少女しょうじょNeutralThe antonym: a girl of roughly 7 to 17, the opposite of 「老女」 for an elderly woman.
• Antonym乙女おとめNeutralThe antonym: a maiden or young girl, carrying connotations of purity and romance; opposite of 「老女」.

For an elderly woman in writing, use 「老女」 — objective and bookish. In everyday speech say 「おばあさん」; news reports prefer 「高齢女性」. Use the honorific 「おばあ様」 to be polite, and avoid 「ばばあ」, which is a rude insult. The antonym is 「少女」.

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

1. 高齢こうれいの女性じょせい。
2. 武家ぶけで奥向おくむきの侍女じじょの長ちょう。