Neutral term for a person who is deaf. Often used in contexts related to Deaf culture and sign language. The spelling ろう者 is preferred in modern, inclusive usage.
She is a deaf person and uses sign language as her first language.
In the Deaf community, sign language plays an important role.
deaf-blind person
Modern, inclusive spelling using kana for ろう to avoid the kanji 聾, which is not a 常用漢字 and can be seen as stigmatizing.
Traditional kanji spelling; 聾 is not a 常用漢字 and is rarely used in contemporary writing. May appear in older or formal texts.
Compound of ろう (deafness) and 者 (person). The reading ろう is from Middle Chinese, and 者 is a Sino-Japanese suffix meaning 'person'.