Girlfriend

The term girlfriend is usually used in one of two senses, each implying a kind of intimate friendship:

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• When describing a girl or woman as "girlfriend" of a heterosexual woman, it is usually used in terms of very close friends. It usually has no sexual or romantic connotation in that sense of its usage.
• When describing a girl or woman as "girlfriend" of a heterosexual or bisexual man or of a bisexual or lesbian woman, it is almost always used to refer to a woman that is involved in a romantic and/or sexual relationship with that person. The equivalent male term is boyfriend. It may describe various stages of courtship outside of marriage. Some consider the term "girlfriend" offensive, and use ladyfriend or womanfriend as an alternative.

The term is also sometimes used as a term of endearment between gay male friends, in the first (non-sexual or -romantic) sense of the word, as an ironic reference to the common perception of gay men and boys as "girls". Some straight males have been known to do the same, in a mocking manner, towards either straight or gay men.

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In Japan, where many English words have entered the common vernacular (especially among teenagers), a "girfriend" (????????) is a term which does not have any romantic connotations. Rather, it is any female friend. For example, a Japanese boy calling a girl his "girlfriend" implies no romantic involvment between the two. The proper way to refer to one's female romantic partner is kanojo (????), a word which also means "she" or "her" (in the objective case). The same situation applies to the word "boyfriend" (???????).

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Girlfriend: See also ►