人類

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 人類(じんるい) means humanity or humankind considered collectively as a species or group.
• Basic usage: It is used for humanity's historical changes in its way of life or a future migration into space. Typical patterns are 人類は暮らしを変えてきた and 人類が宇宙へ移住する.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Treat it as a collective, not an individual
  • It does not count one person but refers collectively to all human beings.
• Difference from 人間
  • 人間(にんげん) can refer in everyday language to an individual or to human beings as such, while 人類 denotes humanity as a whole species or group.