抄録
The purpose of this study is to analyze homographs in Chinese and Japanese that include the character 「正」(zhèng/sei), with a particular focus on the Japanese term 「改正」(kaisei) and the Chinese term “改正”(gǎizhèng), and to clarify the differences in their etymology, meaning, and usage through example sentence investigation. The findings can be summarized into three key characteristics of their usage: ①Since the Meiji era,「改正」(kaisei) has been frequently used as a legal term, primarily in decision-making contexts where it denotes the amendment of relevant matters by an authority with certain powers. ②Beyond the legal domain, it is commonly used to indicate the improvement of systems or regulations by rectifying their shortcomings. ③As a legal term,「改正」(kaisei)functions as a synonym for「全部改正」(zenbukaisei) ,and「一部改正」(ichibukaisei) is used when the scope of revision needs to be clearly stated. On the other hand, the Chinese term “改正” (gǎizhèng) is often used in everyday contexts where the speaker admits fault and apologizes to the other party. It is also frequently used to correct mistakes in “behavior” or “documents”, but its use as a legal term is less common.
