円柱

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 円柱 (えんちゅう) is a noun for a cylinder or a column with a cylindrical form.
• Basic usage: It describes shaping clay into a cylinder or cylindrical columns at a building entrance.
  • 粘土を転がして細長い円柱を作った。 — I rolled the clay into a long, thin cylinder.
  • この建物の入口には白い円柱が二本並んでいる。 — Two white cylindrical columns stand side by side at the building entrance.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Solid shape and column
  • 円柱 can name the geometric solid or a column having that form. Long cylindrical columns are counted with 本, as in 二本.