女子 vs 女の子 nuances


I was wondering when to use one over the other, when talking about a girl.
I've seen 女の子 more often, but would like to know the nuances.

Interesting enough, I've only come across 男の子 for boys. But then again I
haven't had the chance to read a lot of "real" Japanese text yet.




女の子 literally means "female child", thus _girl_. Despite the hiragana in the
middle, it's already one solid word, always pronounced as おんなのこ{LHHLL}. The
same applies to 男の子 ( _boy_ , おとこのこ{LHHLL}).

On the other hand, 子【し】 in 女子【じょし】 doesn't mean "child". The kanji here
roughly means "one (who --)" (In Chinese, 男 and 女 are adjectives and not
nouns, so when you refer to a man or woman you need something to make them
into nouns). This usage of 子 in other than 男子 and 女子 is mostly archaic, only
occasionally seen in bookish writing style, such as
「[読書子に寄す](http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/001119/files/42753_16113.html)」 or
「[雲白く遊子悲しむ](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8D%83%E6%9B%B2%E5%B7%9D%E6%97%85%E6%83%85%E3%81%AE%E6%AD%8C)」.

In modern settings, 男子 and 女子 are often used in the school or sports, which
may lead you into the impression that they suggest "young" men or women, but
there isn't really such a thing (as we say 男子トイレ or 女子更衣室 for young and old).
The nuance around the words is more like "mankind" and "womankind" as opposed
to each other, or something like "male member" and "female member".

* * *

**PS**  
女子 actually also has a reading おなご, an old-fashioned and/or rustic sounding
word for _girl_ , or _lassie_.




女の子 literally means "female child", thus _girl_. Despite the hiragana in the
middle, it's already one solid word, always pronounced as おんなのこ{LHHLL}. The
same applies to 男の子 ( _boy_ , おとこのこ{LHHLL}).

On the other hand, 子【し】 in 女子【じょし】 doesn't mean "child". The kanji here
roughly means "one (who --)" (In Chinese, 男 and 女 are adjectives and not
nouns, so when you refer to a man or woman you need something to make them
into nouns). This usage of 子 in other than 男子 and 女子 is mostly archaic, only
occasionally seen in bookish writing style, such as
「[読書子に寄す](http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/001119/files/42753_16113.html)」 or
「[雲白く遊子悲しむ](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8D%83%E6%9B%B2%E5%B7%9D%E6%97%85%E6%83%85%E3%81%AE%E6%AD%8C)」.

In modern settings, 男子 and 女子 are often used in the school or sports, which
may lead you into the impression that they suggest "young" men or women, but
there isn't really such a thing (as we say 男子トイレ or 女子更衣室 for young and old).
The nuance around the words is more like "mankind" and "womankind" as opposed
to each other, or something like "male member" and "female member".

* * *

**PS**  
女子 actually also has a reading おなご, an old-fashioned and/or rustic sounding
word for _girl_ , or _lassie_.

