virgin; innocent young woman
Refers to a young woman who has not had sexual experience, often with a nuance of purity or naivety. Can be used literally or figuratively.
彼女はまだ生娘だと言われている。
She is said to still be a virgin.
その小説の主人公は純真な生娘として描かれている。
The protagonist of the novel is portrayed as an innocent young woman.
Standard kanji spelling for this word.
Kana spelling is sometimes used for clarity or in casual writing.
Compound of 生 (ki, 'pure, raw') and 娘 (musume, 'daughter, young woman'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used since at least the Edo period to refer to a young, unmarried woman, with the modern sense of 'virgin' becoming prominent later.