The kanji 嬢 generally refers to a young woman, a lady, or a girl, often implying refinement or status. It frequently carries a connotation of gentleness and respect.

・On-yomi (音読み): ジョウ (jō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, or rarely used as a standalone kun-yomi.

⚫︎お嬢さん (ojōsan) Translation: Young lady; Miss; daughter (used respectfully) ⚫︎令嬢 (reijō) Translation: Daughter (formal); young lady (formal) ⚫︎風俗嬢 (fūzokujō) Translation: A hostess at a business that offers entertainment or sexual services (often used as a derogatory term).

The kanji 嬢 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound character. It is composed of two parts: 女 (onna), meaning "woman," and 襄 (jō), which contributes the sound and is sometimes considered to provide the meaning of "assist" or "help," and here acts to provide a phonetic element. Together, they combine to form the idea of a "young woman" or "lady".