独占

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 独占, read どくせん, means having something exclusively, leaving others unable to use it or participate.
• Basic usage: It applies both to a company monopolizing a market and to everyday situations such as keeping the television to oneself.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Monopolizing more than a market
  • 市場を独占する means to monopolize a market; テレビを独占する means to keep the television to oneself.
  • Unlike 共有, shared use, it focuses on keeping the share or opportunity that could also go to others.