Is 娘 (musume) a good way to address a girl?

Question

In the anime 『日常』Nichijou, the character Sakamoto (坂本) always uses 娘 to call (refer to) the girl robot character Shinonome Nano (東雲なの).

Is 娘 a good (or prefect) form of address to call or refer to a young girl in Japan in real life?

Answer 1

As a simple noun, 娘 does mean "(young) girl" as well as "daughter". Basically this usage is bookish, and it's not used outside established set phrases (e.g., 看板娘) in casual speech.

• Sentence ending in 娘
• Usage of を in 自らを豊作を司る
• What purpose does ある serve in the sentence?
• What does 看板親父 mean?

But that is not to say it's okay to address someone using 娘 in real spoken Japanese. Only in fiction, someone who speaks in a pompous, dignified and/or old-fashioned manner (e.g., gods, prophets, landlords, samurai) may use 娘 to address a stranger girl.

Note that 息子 is always "son", never "boy".