個体

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 個体, read こたい, refers to an individual entity within a group or kind.
• Basic usage: It is often used for individual organisms and differences between them.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Same sound, different word
  • 個体 is an individual entity, while 固体 is a solid state of matter. Both are read こたい, but their meanings differ.
• Individual variation
  • The example's 個体によって means depending on the individual. Members of the same kind need not be identical.