Colloquial, often affectionate or slightly rough way to refer to a girl or young woman. Similar to 娘 but with a more casual, folksy feel. Can sound endearing or mildly dismissive depending on context.
That girl is still a high school student.
The neighborhood girls are playing in the park.
Standard kanji spelling; the っ子 suffix adds a colloquial, affectionate, or slightly rough nuance.
Variant spelling using こ instead of 子; same reading and nuance.
Derived from 娘 (むすめ, 'daughter' or 'young woman') with the colloquial suffix っ子 (っこ), which adds a casual, affectionate, or slightly rough nuance. The suffix is common in informal or dialectal speech.