登場

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 登場 is a noun read とうじょう for a person or thing appearing in a story or on a stage and is also used as 登場する.
• Basic usage: It describes a new character appearing in a story or an athlete appearing at center stage after their name is called.
  • 物語の後半に新しい人物が登場します。 introduces a new character in the latter half of a story; 名前を呼ばれると、選手は舞台の中央に登場しました。 says that the athlete appeared at center stage when their name was called.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Subject marked by が
  • In 人物が登場する, 登場する functions intransitively and が marks the person who appears.
• Location marked by に
  • に in 舞台の中央に登場する marks where the person appears; the source sentence itself specifies neither the athlete's gender nor how they move.
• 登場 and 出演
  • 出演(しゅつえん) focuses on participating in a work, broadcast, or event as a performer, while 登場 more broadly describes appearing in a story or scene.