The kanji 嬢 primarily conveys the meaning of "young woman", "daughter", or "miss". It often implies a sense of elegance, youth, and sometimes, a higher social standing. It’s used to refer to unmarried young women, particularly in formal or polite contexts.

・On-yomi (音読み): ジョウ (jō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None

⚫︎お嬢さん (ojōsan) Translation: Young lady; daughter (used respectfully) ⚫︎令嬢 (reijō) Translation: Daughter (used respectfully, often referring to a young woman from a good family) ⚫︎風俗嬢 (fūzokujō) Translation: A woman working in the adult entertainment industry. (The use of 嬢 here has a different nuance.)

The kanji 嬢 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). It combines the semantic element of 女 (女, onna), meaning "woman" or "female," with the phonetic element 㝗 (jō), which provides the sound. This combination suggests a young woman or a female figure. The kanji evolved from earlier forms that depicted a young woman in a respectful manner.