彼女

Japanese

Kanji in this term
彼	女
か(の) Grade: S	じょ Grade: 1
yutōyomi

Etymology

First appears in writing in the late Edo period as a compound of 彼の (kano, ano, “that”) +‎ 女 (onna, “woman”) with the reading kano onna or ano onna, simply meaning “that woman”.[1] The kanojo reading arose by replacing the kun'yomi reading of onna for the second character with its on'yomi of jo. The first written appearance of the kanojo reading is in 1876, in the 改正画引小学読本 (Kaisei Gakubiki Shōgaku Dokuhon, “Revised Stroke-ordered Elementary-school Reader”).[2] The first clear use of this term as a pronoun is around 1888,[2] arising out of influence from Western works.[1][2][3] The kanojo reading became more common and replaced kano onna and ano onna during the Taishō period (1912-1926).[1]

Pronunciation

(Irregular reading)

(Tokyo) かのじょ [káꜜnòjò] (Atamadaka – [1])[4][2]
IPA^(key): [ka̠no̞ʑo̞]

Pronoun

彼(かの)女(じょ) • (kanojo) ^{←かのぢよ (kanodyo)^?}

(formal) Female third-person singular pronoun; she, her
彼(かれ)氏(し)彼(かの)女(じょ)の事(じ)情(じょう)
Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō
His and Her Circumstances
- 1988 July 30 [Jul 25 1984], Fujiko F. Fujio, “ふたりぼっち [Altwo]”, in ポストの中の明日 [Post-Mid-Tomorrow] (藤子不二雄少年SF短編集; 2), volume 2 (fiction), 10th edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 191:
  「彼(かの)女(じょ)はぼくの『宇(う)宙(ちゅう)開(かい)拓(たく)史(し)』に興(きょう)味(み)を示(しめ)した」
  “Kanojo wa boku no ‘Uchū Kaitakushi’ ni kyōmi o shimeshita”
  “She showed interest in my ‘History of Cosmic Reclamation’”
- Yamazaki, Kore, “第(だい)5(ご)篇(へん)　Misfortunes seldom come singly. [Composition 5: Misfortunes seldom come singly.]”, in 魔法使いの嫁(The Ancient Magus Bride) [The Ancient Magus’ Bride], volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Mag Garden, page 174:
  やはり彼(かの)女(じょ)が大(だい)事(じ)な実(じっ)験(けん)体(たい)だからか？裂き喰らう城(ピルム・ムーリアリス)
  Yahari kanojo ga daiji na jikkentai dakara ka? Pirumu mūriarisu
  After all, she’s your indispensable specimen, right? Pilum murialis
- 2004 February 6, “レオニンのシカール [Leonin Shikari]”, in ダークスティール [Darksteel], Wizards of the Coast:
  彼(かの)女(じょ)の本(ほん)能(のう)は、その刃(やいば)ほども鋭(するど)い。
  Kanojo no honnō wa, sono yaiba hodo mo surudoi.
  Her instinct is as sharp as that blade.
- 2016 July 22, “エムラクールの加(か)護(ご) [Boon of Emrakul]”, in 異界月 [Eldritch Moon], Wizards of the Coast:
  エムラクールの周(しゅう)囲(い)では、彼(かの)女(じょ)の想(そう)像(ぞう)に合(あ)わせて生(せい)命(めい)が形(かたち)を変(か)える。
  Emurakūru no shūi de wa, kanojo no sōzō ni awasete seimei ga katachi o kaeru.
  All around Emrakul, life re-formed in her image.
(colloquial, vulgar) Used as a second-person singular pronoun to an unknown young woman by a man, especially in the vocative mood in a vulgar way.
ヘイ彼(かの)女(じょ)、お茶(ちゃ)しない？
Hei kanojo, ocha shinai?
Hey girl, do you want a cup of tea?

Antonyms

彼(かれ) (kare, “he”)

Noun

彼(かの)女(じょ) • (kanojo) ^{←かのぢよ (kanodyo)^?}

(colloquial) a girlfriend (a female partner in a romantic relationship)
あぁ、彼(かの)女(じょ)がほしいなぁ…
Ā, kanojo ga hoshii nā…
Man, I wish I had a girlfriend…
- 2004 September 8, Sorachi, Hideaki, “第(だい)十(じゅう)六(ろく)訓(くん)　考(かんが)えたら人(じん)生(せい)ってオッさんになってからの方(ほう)が長(なが)いじゃねーか！恐(こわ)っ‼ [Lesson 16: Come to Think of It, Life Gets Longer When You’re Old! Spooky!!]”, in 銀(ぎん)魂(たま) [Silver Soul], volume 3 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN:
  いいだろお前(まえ)　地(ち)平(へい)線(せん)の向(む)こう側(がわ)へ行(い)ってみたいんだ
  Ii daro omae chiheisen no mukōgawa e itte mitai n da
  Fine, take me to the other side of the horizon then.
  てめーは彼(かの)女(じょ)かぁぁ‼
  Temē wa kanojo kāa‼
  You ain’t my damn girlfriend awright!?
- 2008 July 23, TAGRO, “#05”, in 変ゼミ [Abnormal Physiology Seminar], volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN, page 83:
  これって……コムギさん⁉自(じ)分(ぶん)の彼(かの)女(じょ)がやられてるのにその恍(こう)惚(こつ)の表(ひょう)情(じょう)は……ナニ⁉
  コムギは寝(ね)取(と)られ(ＮＴＲ)フェチなのさ
  Kore tte…… Komugi-san⁉ Jibun no kanojo ga yararete ru no ni sono kōkotsu no hyōjō wa…… nani⁉
  Komugi wa netorare fechi na no sa
  That is… Komugi-san!? His girlfriend’s cheating on him, and yet he has that satisfied look on his face… What the heck⁉
  Komugi has a cuckold’s fetish
- 2013 August 7, ONE; Murata, Yusuke, “21(にじゅういち)撃(げき)目(め)　巨(きょ)大(だい)隕(いん)石(せき) [21st Hit: Giant Meteorite]”, in ONEPUNCH-MAN(【ワンパンマン】) [One-Punch Man], volume 4 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN, page 25:
  死(し)ぬ前(まえ)に彼(かの)女(じょ)欲(ほ)しかったなあ…………
  Shinu mae ni kanojo hoshikatta nā…………
  I wish I had a girlfriend before I die…

Usage notes

This is an example of a word that can be spelled with katakana to convey an informal conversational tone, as カノジョ.

Synonyms

ガールフレンド (gārufurendo, “girlfriend”, borrowed from English)

Antonyms

彼(かれ) (kare, “boyfriend”)
彼(かれ)氏(し) (kareshi, “boyfriend”)

Hypernyms

恋人(こいびと) (koibito, “lover”)
交(こう)際(さい)相(あい)手(て) (kōsai aite, “partner”)

Derived terms

元(もと)カノ (motokano, “ex-girlfriend”)

References

1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

[DJR-2] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[DJS-3] 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[NHK-4] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN