Woman in Japanese: on’na, josei, or on’nanohito, explained in detail

How to say “woman” in Japanese

There are multiple ways to say “woman” in Japanese. In this blog post, however, I will focus on the three of them: “on’na”, “josei”, and “on’nanohito”. I will explain these words in detail and how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to say “woman” properly in Japanese, I think. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “on’na”
  • Example #1: how to say “woman” in Japanese
• Definition and meanings of “josei”
• “Josei” in kanji
  • Example #2: how to say “woman” politely in Japanese
• Definition and meanings of “on’nanohito”
  • Example #3: how to use “on’nanohito”
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “on’na”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “on’na”.

• on’na – 女 (おんな) : a noun meaning ‘woman’ or ‘female’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.

This is the most basic word to refer to a woman or female in Japanese. In reality, however, native speakers rarely use it. Since it is the most basic one without any polite or honorific nuance, it sounds rude in many situations. Yet, this is very important as it is the necessary part in any words related to ‘woman’.

Let me explain how to use “on’na” through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “woman” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after “on’na” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• ano – あの : a determiner used before a noun referring to a thing not close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “on’na” to say “that woman” in Japanese.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “ano on’na”, to make the object in the sentence.
• shira – 知ら (しら) : one conjugation of the verb, “shiru”, which means ‘to know’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. In the example, this is used after “shira” to deny its meaning.

This is a typical usage of “on’na”. Again, but it sounds rude. So, this example sentence sounds rude to native speakers. It is the most simple word, but Japanese learners should avoid using it, I think,

Definition and meanings of “josei”

Next, then, let me explain the definition and meanings of “josei”.

• josei – 女性 (じょせい) : a noun meaning ‘woman’ or ‘female’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun.

Its meanings are the same as those of “on’na”, but it sounds much more formal and polite. So, Japanese native speakers often use this word to mean ‘woman’ or ‘female’.

To understand this word more clearly, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

“Josei” in kanji

Below are the kanji characters used in “josei”.

• 女 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘woman’ or ‘female’ in Japanese.
• 性 : a kanji character used to mean ‘gender’ or ‘sex’ in Japanese.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “josei” literally means ‘woman gender’. This kanji concept is not completely in line with the meanings, but still very close, I think.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “josei” through the detailed kanji check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “josei” through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “woman” politely in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• shit – 知っ (しっ) : one conjugation of “shiru” which means ‘to know’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form. In the example, this is used after “shit” to make its te form, “shit te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
• iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by the preceding verb. In the example, this is used to express the continuity of the action described by “shit te” – ‘to know’.

This is a typical usage of “josei”. As it sounds more formal and polite, this example sentence sounds more formal and polite than the last one. When we want to say “woman” or “female” politely in Japanese, this word would be a very good choice.

Definition and meanings of “on’nanohito”

Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “on’nanohito”.

• on’nanohito – 女の人 (おんなのひと) : a noun meaning ‘woman’ or ‘female’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun.

This word consists of the three parts: “on’na”, “no”, and “hito”. The first one means ‘woman’ or ‘female’ in Japanese. The last one means ‘person’. The middle one is a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally the preceding noun works to modify the meaning of the following noun. So, “on’nanohito” literally means ‘woman person’ in Japanese. This word seems to overexplain, but the concept is still close to the meanings.

Then, let me explain how to use “on’nanohito” through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to use “on’nanohito”

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “on’nanohito”. It sounds more polite than “on’na”, but less than “josei”. So, it isn’t rude at least. Japanese native speakers often use this to refer to a woman in daily conversations.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the three ways to say “woman” in Japanese. Let me summarize them as follows.

• on’na – 女 (おんな) : a noun meaning ‘woman’ or ‘female’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Native speakers rarely use this, as it sounds rude in many situations. Japanese learners should avoid using this.
• josei – 女性 (じょせい) : a noun meaning ‘woman’ or ‘female’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. This sounds much more formal and polite than “on’na”. When we want to say “woman” politely in Japanese, this word would be a good choice.
• on’nanohito – 女の人 (おんなのひと) : a noun meaning ‘woman’ or ‘female’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. This sounds more polite than “on’na”, but less than “josei”. Native speakers often use this to refer to a woman in daily conversations.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.