ok so this is just another stupid question from a beginner
so all of the actual sources for learning japanese or dictionaries teach 男の子 as “boy” and it makes sense given the kanji are man and child. but then i also hear people on the internet who argue over the gender of transfem characters in japanese media [i.e. bridget from guilty gear and vivian from paper mario] use the word to mean “femboy” or “trans girl” and its just got me so confused @~@
If it’s written like 男の子 that just means boy, 100%.
People use 男の娘 in Japanese to achieve the “femboy” meaning you’re referring to. 娘 can sound the same as 子, but means daughter or young girl.
If people use “otokonoko” in English, there’s no way to distinguish the way the kanji does, but I imagine the only people using that in English are people who are only thinking of the second kanji form.
ooooohh ok that makes a lot more sense now !!
thank you so much !!