1.
prostitute (female); sex worker
A woman who engages in prostitution. A clinical, somewhat formal term used in news reporting, legal contexts, and historical or literary writing.
彼女は売春婦だった。
She was a prostitute.
小説の主人公は若い売春婦だ。
The novel's protagonist is a young prostitute.
その地区では、かつて多くの売春婦が暮らしていた。
In that district, many prostitutes once lived.
Formed from 売春 (prostitution) + 婦 (woman). The act itself is 売春.
REGISTER: A neutral, descriptive term, but the subject matter is sensitive, so it is largely confined to writing and formal speech.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 娼婦: a more literary, somewhat dated word for the same thing
- セックスワーカー: "sex worker," a more recent, neutral loanword covering all genders