体毛

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 体毛 (たいもう) is a compound noun for hair growing on the body of a person or animal.
• Basic usage: 動物の体毛は異なる makes body hair collectively the topic of species comparison, while 一本の体毛の表面 refers to the surface of one hair examined under a microscope.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Collective hair and one strand
  • 体毛は states a general property of body hair as a class, whereas 一本の体毛 uses a counter to select one strand. The collective reference in the first example should not be reduced to a single hair.