Like many Japanese words, the characters of the word shōjo come from Chinese. The first known use of the word comes from a Chinese book called "The Book of the Later Han". In Chapter 86, young girls are mentioned:盤瓠種，昔帝嚳時患犬戎入寇, 乃訪募天下，有能得犬戎之將吳將軍頭者，購黃金千鎰，邑萬家，又妻以少女