議員

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 議員 is read as ぎいん and is a noun for a legislator or council member serving in a deliberative body.
• Basic usage: Describing a legislator conveying residents’ requests appears in 議員が要望を伝える, while describing a young council member asking about education appears in 若い議員が質問する.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Distinction from 議会
  • 議員 is a person serving in a legislative body, whereas 議会 is the institution in which those members deliberate.