1.
beautiful girl; pretty young girl
A young girl or teenage girl who is considered beautiful. Widely used in anime, manga, and gaming contexts to describe a character archetype.
美少女キャラが人気だ。
Beautiful-girl characters are popular.
美少女ゲームは日本で独自に発展したジャンルだ。
Bishoujo games are a genre that developed uniquely in Japan.
変身する美少女戦士のアニメは世界中で愛されている。
Anime featuring transforming beautiful-girl warriors are loved worldwide.
Compound of 美 (beautiful) + 少女 (young girl). The male counterpart is 美少年.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 美少女キャラ (beautiful-girl character)
- 美少女ゲーム (bishoujo game — visual novel genre)
- 美少女戦士 (beautiful-girl warrior — as in magical girl anime)
CULTURAL NOTE:
In everyday Japanese, 美少女 can describe any pretty young girl. However, it is strongly associated with anime, manga, and game subculture, where it refers to a specific character type. The term has been borrowed into English as "bishoujo" in fan communities.