庶民

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 庶民, read しょみん, combines the many ordinary 庶 with people 民 as a social group label.
• Basic usage: It collectively denotes ordinary people outside ruling or privileged groups, as in 庶民の暮らし.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Tone and register
  • It is not a precise label for one person's income level but a term used in historical or social contrast.