Vocal Voices

I was thinking about this - as you do.

If you talk about a male person to someone else you'd often say: he's a nice guy / chap

but if you talk about a female person what do you say?
She's a nice lady (quite "formal" and opposite to What a nice gentleman?)
She's a nice girl (not really suitable for someone over a certain age - and again opposite would be what a nice boy?)

Is there a generic feminine version of guy / chap?

Don't know
Probably
DUck when i lived in Lincolnshire
And flower when I lived in wales

I would have thought "gal", Meriad as in "guys and gals". Or was it "guys and dolls" ... hmmmmm ....

But - I would probably meself use the word "lass", which is Scottish or Yorkshire in origin?

Googling, I found this:
http://english.stackexchange.com/questi ... on-of-guys
.... which is a long but interesting read!

Glad I'm not the only one that has wondered about this

That article is interesting and I do agree using the word "guys" for a group of ladies is fine and I use it myself... but it didn't say what you'd refer to as a single female person

I like the terms lass but again to me that would be for a younger person. Just being curious - would you refer to Mrs O as lass?

It is lads and lasses of any age up here, Ria, as in "What are you lads/lasses up to?"

"'Un" is also used for a singley of any gender "He's a good 'un, she's a good 'un."

And just to confuse matters even further 'love' is used by both sexes and to both sexes, so a man might say to another man "OK luv, I'll catch you later" as would a woman to another woman or a man to woman or a woman to a man.

We're a gay bunch up in Yorkshire.

I'll never forget the very first time I put foot on UK soil and the old chap at the rail station called me 'love' - put the biggest smile on my face

I think guys is pretty unisex these days, as in "You guys"

Coincidentally this came up the other night, at zumba. Jane usually says "Ladies" when addressing the class, but as we now have a regular chap who comes (a rather nice young one, who I was lucky enough to be right behind last time ) she asked if she should just address the whole class as "Guys" and we all agreed

If iv met a person before I call every one my love except the Dr or official people

Lass or lasses in Scotland. Lassie for a young girl.

Of course there are also the negative terms of which I have a few courtesy of the Army.

There is also Woman. It's much more impersonal but is still in use. I would probably use Ladies but that has a lot to do with my Scottish Country Dancing where we have Men and "Ladies".

I must admit I don't think about it. It's a very English thing and is like so many other things in English, it depends on the situation, the context and the meaning you are trying to deliver with the words you are using.

For instance "She's some old Girl" is often a remark of respect and sometimes amazement. Never would it be used with a young woman or a young girl. Also there is the 3rd person approach. "Her, she's....."

Then you get down to "Oi, you lot"..... And it descends from there.

I just remembered something from my time in the RAF.

There were times when the Squabbling Bleeder (Squadron Leader) needed to gather us all in the hangar for a chat. When these one-way chats were of the non-serious nature the opening line would often be "Right you chaps and chapesses, listen up."

So, to answer the OP, the feminine of chaps is chapesses.