noun
Refers to one's own niece or someone else's niece. The term is neutral and commonly used in both spoken and written Japanese.
姪が来月、大学を卒業します。
My niece will graduate from university next month.
彼の姪はとても絵が上手だ。
His niece is very good at drawing.
甥 means 'nephew', the male counterpart of 姪.
The kanji 姪 is composed of 女 (woman) and 至 (arrive), originally referring to a brother's daughter. The reading めい is the on'yomi.