person

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 人 means a person and is read ひと as a standalone word. Compounds also use じん and にん.
• Basic usage: 困っている人 means a person in difficulty, and 多くの人 means many people.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Readings for counting people
  • 一人 is ひとり, 二人 is ふたり, and 三人 is さんにん.
  • The first two forms do not mean that every headcount can be assembled using ひと or たり.
• Singular and plural
  • 人 itself does not take an English-style ending to distinguish singular from plural.
  • Expressions such as 一人 or 多くの人, together with context, show whether one or several people are meant.
• Population as a count
  • 人口, read じんこう, refers to the number of people living in an area or similar group.