also: めのこやつこ
female slave
Archaic term for a woman held in bondage; historical usage only.
Ancient documents contain descriptions of women sold as female slaves.
Only with reading ひ
Archaic term for a domestic female servant; reading restricted to ひ.
In the inner palace of the Edo period, female servants performed various chores.
Modern general term for 'slave', not gender-specific and not archaic.
Historical term for a maid or female servant, more common than 婢 but still old-fashioned.
Archaic kanji for a female slave or servant; rarely used in modern Japanese.
Archaic compound spelling literally meaning 'girl child servant'; reading めのこやつこ.
The kanji 婢 is composed of 女 (woman) and 卑 (lowly), suggesting a woman of low status. The reading ひ is the on'yomi. The compound 女の子奴 is a native Japanese construction with the reading めのこやつこ, literally 'girl child servant'. Both forms are archaic.