人類
じんるい · jinrui · JLPT N3 · noun
world
🌍 人類 = person (人) + kind/category (類): the human kind
人 (jin) means person and 類 (rui) means kind or category, as in 種類 (shurui, type). Together they name the category of all people: mankind. The same 類 appears in 哺乳類 (mammals) and 鳥類 (birds), so 人類 is the people class.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.