What is the difference between 「女性一人」 and 「一人の女性」?


So far, I've learnt that a quantity (number + counter) can be attached to a
noun to quantify it by using の:

> 一人の女性。One woman.

However, I came across a sentence in my textbook where the noun an the
number+counter are grouped in the opposite order and withouta any particle:

> 女性一人。One woman.

I wonder if there is any difference in terms of meaning, usage or style for
each possibility.

You can check the original answer in the Japanese Stack Exchange from which my
question arised [here](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/70679/32952). It
might provide the context necessary to address this question.

よろしくお願いします！

EDIT: the question was identified as a duplicate by myself because both
expressions have the same meaning as stated in the linked question. However,
as the excellent [answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/70704/32952)
provided by [broccoli
forest](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/users/7810/broccoli-forest)
explains, there is a different nuance between them. This differenve is not
explained in the linked question, therefore I think this question is not a
duplicate but it is different from the linked one.




In short, 一人の～ sounds more specific and ～一人 more general. 一人の女性 often
translates into "a _certain_ woman".

  1. > 一人の女性を愛した男性

  2. > 女性一人を愛した男性

If I heard these phrases, I'd take #1 as "a man who loved (only) one woman"
but #2 as "men who loved (only) one woman". That is because 一人の女性 probably
means a _specific_ woman, so I think that the man is specific, too. On the
other hand, 女性一人 is probably _unspecific_ , so I think that it is talking
about a group of, or generally men each of whom loved a sole (but different)
woman in his life.

Similarly(?), `三匹の子豚` reminds me of a fable about _certain_ imaginary pigs and
a _certain_ imaginary wolf, but `子豚三匹` only of barbecue in your ranch.

Now, taking from the sample in the question you linked:

  3. > 一人の女性が生む子どもの数

  4. > 女性一人が生む子どもの数

In the original context, it talks about birth rate, thus I feel #4 is more
preferable than #3 (though not ununderstandable). The reason is that the
number is an average, while the number of children each actual woman has is
very diverse and 一人の女性 cannot help but be related with a random woman. You can
say "a whale is a mammal" to mean "whales are mammals", but replacing "women
are shorter than men" with "a woman is shorter than a man" is weird, because
obviously a _certain_ woman is not necessarily shorter than a _certain_ man.
In this case, using 一人の～ with words that explicitly mean uncertainty (e.g. 平均
"average", 確率 "probability") makes it much better.




In short, 一人の～ sounds more specific and ～一人 more general. 一人の女性 often
translates into "a _certain_ woman".

  1. > 一人の女性を愛した男性

  2. > 女性一人を愛した男性

If I heard these phrases, I'd take #1 as "a man who loved (only) one woman"
but #2 as "men who loved (only) one woman". That is because 一人の女性 probably
means a _specific_ woman, so I think that the man is specific, too. On the
other hand, 女性一人 is probably _unspecific_ , so I think that it is talking
about a group of, or generally men each of whom loved a sole (but different)
woman in his life.

Similarly(?), `三匹の子豚` reminds me of a fable about _certain_ imaginary pigs and
a _certain_ imaginary wolf, but `子豚三匹` only of barbecue in your ranch.

Now, taking from the sample in the question you linked:

  3. > 一人の女性が生む子どもの数

  4. > 女性一人が生む子どもの数

In the original context, it talks about birth rate, thus I feel #4 is more
preferable than #3 (though not ununderstandable). The reason is that the
number is an average, while the number of children each actual woman has is
very diverse and 一人の女性 cannot help but be related with a random woman. You can
say "a whale is a mammal" to mean "whales are mammals", but replacing "women
are shorter than men" with "a woman is shorter than a man" is weird, because
obviously a _certain_ woman is not necessarily shorter than a _certain_ man.
In this case, using 一人の～ with words that explicitly mean uncertainty (e.g. 平均
"average", 確率 "probability") makes it much better.

