顕微鏡

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 顕微鏡, read けんびきょう, combines revealing the minute 顕微 with viewing instrument 鏡 as the name of a microscope.
• Basic usage: It is an instrument for magnifying objects too small to see clearly unaided, as in 顕微鏡で胞子を観察する.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Scope and context
  • The instrument takes で as the means of observation and differs in purpose from 望遠鏡, which views distant objects.