Origin

This character combines the radical for "woman" on the left with a component on the right that suggests excellence or distinction. The right part, which originally carried meanings related to being premier or outstanding, pairs with the woman radical to create the idea of a woman of superior quality—a beautiful woman or princess. By stacking these two semantic elements together, the character visually expresses the concept of an exceptional or noble woman, which is why it came to mean "beautiful woman" and "princess" in both Chinese and Japanese.