When does 彼 refer to a person of indeterminate gender?


I've seen 彼 and even sometimes 彼氏 described in several dictionaries as a
pronoun that can refer to a person of any gender, while 彼女 is explicitly
female. However in the wild ive never seen a woman referred to with 彼, but its
also possible i dont see it, just as a second-language speaker of English may
not realize "his" in "Every man must choose his fate" can refer to a person of
any gender as it's a very subtle distinction.

So my question is this — when in modern day practice can 彼 refer to a person
of either gender?




彼{かれ} always refers to a male person in modern Japanese.

Historically, it was used to refer to something far away (like あれ in modern
Japanese), and as a result was compatible with females as well, but that usage
is no longer possible. Vestiges of that usage can be seen in 彼{か}の〜 (largely
equivalent to あの) which is still used in modern Japanese.

