多細胞

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 多細胞, read たさいぼう, combines 多 with 細胞 to express being made of multiple cells.
• Basic usage: 多細胞生物の体は多数の細胞から成り立つ。 says that the body of a multicellular organism consists of many cells.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Compared with 単細胞
  • 単細胞 and 多細胞 distinguish single-cell and multiple-cell organization. The contrast counts cells making up the body, not separate organisms.
• Compound noun
  • 多細胞生物 is read たさいぼうせいぶつ. The initial 多細胞 specifies the organism's cellular organization.