guest · customer

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 客 conveys a guest or customer.
• Basic usage: 客（きゃく） can mean a guest, customer, or passenger, while 観客（かんきゃく） means an audience or spectator.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Customers, passengers, and an audience
  • 客 refers both to people already in a shop and to a passenger asking about a transfer at a station. Its translation depends on the setting.
  • People watching a performance or applauding actors are 観客. The added 観 specifies people watching a performance.