1.
female college student; female university student
A woman currently enrolled at a university or four-year college. A very common everyday word — much more frequent in speech than the formal equivalents — and often used as a demographic label in advertising, media, and casual conversation.
姉は女子大生です。
My older sister is a female college student.
女子大生向けの雑誌を読んでいる。
I'm reading a magazine aimed at female college students.
この喫茶店は近くの大学の女子大生に人気だそうだ。
I hear this café is popular with female students from the nearby university.
Composed of 女子 (girl, young woman) and 大生, itself a clipped form of 大学生 (university student). The word is a common demographic label, but be aware that it can sometimes carry a mildly stereotyped connotation in marketing and media contexts, where it often suggests youthfulness, trendiness, or buying power.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 女子大生向け: aimed at female college students
- 現役女子大生: currently enrolled female college student
- 女子大生ブランド: brands popular with female college students
- 女子大生のアルバイト: part-time jobs done by female college students
- 女子大生社長: female college student CEO (media label for young women entrepreneurs)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 男子大生: male college student — the male counterpart, but used much less often
- 大学生: university student — gender-neutral, more formal
- 女子学生: female student — covers all school levels, more formal
- 女大生: (rare spelling) — occasionally seen in older print media
CULTURAL NOTE:
In Japan, "女子" in this compound does not evoke the "little girl" sense — it is simply the paired counterpart to 男子 in academic and sporting labels, similar to "women's/men's" in English.