後継者

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 後継者, read こうけいしゃ, means a person who takes over a role or business, or inherits skills from a predecessor.
• Basic usage: Use it for someone who will inherit a shop owner's skills or take over a representative's role.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Family and succession
  • 子孫 concerns family descent, while 後継者 concerns taking over a role or work. A successor need not be a family member.
• Whom someone succeeds
  • Place the person being succeeded before の, as in the example 現代表の後継者.