bishoujo

B3I1S1H4O1U1J8O1
/bɪˈʃəʊd͡ʒəʊ/

noun

A genre of anime and manga depicting cute young girls and women.

UncommonScrabble 20

Meanings

nounbishoujo (uncountable)

alternative bishojo

  1. uncountableA genre of anime and manga depicting cute young girls and women.

    If you are into bishojo, loli-con, or bishonen materials, be advised that customs *does* frown on what might be considered pornography.

    1989 September 23, Mark Crispin, “bringing stuff into the US from Japan”, in soc.culture.japan (Usenet)
    1 more example

    I was really struck by how many of the bishoujo cliches it managed to bring up. We already have the older sister, younger sister, childhood friend, and exotic transfer student. We have a genki girl, a ditzy girl, a hime-sama, and a meido.

    2006 October 13, Abraham Evangelista, “Re: Crescent Love - dull new anime”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet)

Origin

  1. Japanese美少女
  2. Englishbishoujo

From Japanese 美少女 (bishōjo).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bishoujo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bishoujo

MLA

“bishoujo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bishoujo. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bishoujo,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bishoujo.

Source: bishoujo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.