宇宙人

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 宇宙人, read うちゅうじん, combines outer space 宇宙 with person or being 人 as a name for an extraterrestrial.
• Basic usage: It denotes an intelligent being imagined as coming from beyond Earth, as in 宇宙人と会話する.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Scope and context
  • Unlike an Earth-born astronaut 宇宙飛行士, the defining idea is an extraterrestrial being.