youjo

Youjo, written with the kanji 幼女 and read youjo (sometimes rendered yōjo in macronized form), is a Japanese noun meaning a young girl, typically a female child from infancy to preadolescence. In English-language writing, it is commonly romanized as "youjo," though some sources use "yōjo." It is distinct from shōjo (少女), which can refer more broadly to girls or young women and is widely used in media aimed at a slightly older audience.

In everyday usage, youjo refers to a very young female child and can carry connotations of innocence or vulnerability depending on context. The first kanji, 幼, denotes youth or infancy, while 女 denotes a female.

In popular culture, youjo appears in titles and descriptions involving young female characters. A notable example is Youjo Senki (幼女戦記), translated as The Saga of Tanya the Evil, a light novel series by Carlo Zen that has been adapted into an anime. The title literally references a young girl within a narrative about military conflict in a fantasy world, and the work is often discussed in relation to its themes and protagonist.

See also: shōjo; Japanese terms for girls in media; romanization and readings of Japanese kanji.