1.
adopted daughter
A girl or woman who has been legally adopted into a family. The female counterpart of 養子 (adopted child, traditionally male).
彼女は養女として迎えられた。
She was taken in as an adopted daughter.
子どもがいなかった夫婦は、養女を迎えた。
The childless couple adopted a daughter.
歴史的に、家業を継がせるために養女を取り、その夫を婿養子として迎えることがあった。
Historically, families would sometimes adopt a daughter and bring in her husband as an adopted son-in-law to continue the family business.
The formal term for an adopted daughter, as opposed to 養子 which can mean adopted child in general but traditionally refers to an adopted son.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 養女を迎える: to adopt a daughter
- 養女として育てる: to raise as an adopted daughter
- 養女に出す: to give up (a daughter) for adoption
CULTURAL NOTE:
In traditional Japan, adoption was often strategic — to secure an heir for a family line. Adopting a daughter (養女) and then bringing in a son-in-law (婿養子) was one way to continue a family name.
RELATED TERMS:
- 養子: adopted child (general/male)
- 養母: adoptive mother
- 養父: adoptive father
- 養親: adoptive parent
- 実子: biological child