The term girlfriend can have several meanings:

• When used by a heterosexual girl or woman, the term "girlfriend" usually denotes a close female friend and has no sexual or romantic connotation. Sometimes, the phrase girl friend (with a space) or friend girl is used to avoid confusion with the romantic meaning.

• The female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship with a male. In this sense the term is generally used to describe a male's courting partner or "lover" -- someone he is in love with -- and is used by all age groups. For example, "He took his girlfriend out to dinner and a movie."

• When used by a lesbian or bisexual woman, the term "girlfriend" is almost always used to refer to a female that is involved in a romantic and/or sexual relationship with that person; in this usage, it is synonymous with "partner".

• When used by a gay man, the term may refer to either the first sense listed above, or in a camp way, to any person he may be addressing.

In Japan, where many English words have entered the common vernacular (especially among teenagers), a "girlfriend" (ガールフレンド) 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 involvement between the two. The proper way to refer to one's female romantic partner is kanojo (かのじょ/彼女), a word which also means she or her (in the objective case). The same situation applies to the word "boyfriend" (ボーイフレンド).

See also

• Boyfriend
• Significant other
• Courtship

Intimate relationships

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