纠正

• Pinyin: jiū zhèng
• Hanzi breakdown: 纠 = 纟+ 丩, to correct; 正 = 一 + 止, correct/straight (stopping at the line)

Meaning

To correct; to rectify; to put right. The action of fixing errors or improper behavior.

Used for correcting mistakes (纠正错误), bad habits (纠正坏习惯), or misconceptions (纠正观念). More formal than 改正, often used in educational, official, or authoritative contexts. Implies active intervention to fix something wrong.

Examples

1. 老师及时纠正了学生发音上的错误，避免形成坏习惯。 The teacher promptly corrected the student's pronunciation errors to prevent bad habits from forming.
2. 政府出台新政策纠正市场乱象，规范行业发展。 The government introduced new policies to rectify market chaos and regulate industry development.
3. 他花了很长时间才纠正自己用筷子的错误姿势。 It took him a long time to correct his improper way of holding chopsticks.

Usage Guide

Context: education, workplace, official

Tone: corrective

Do Say

• 请帮我纠正一下这个句子的语法。(Please help me correct the grammar in this sentence.)
• 坏习惯要趁早纠正。(Bad habits should be corrected early.)

Don't Say

• 用纠正代替修改，如'纠正文章' (纠正 implies fixing errors — for general editing use 修改 instead)

Origin & History

Compound of 纠 (to correct, to investigate) + 正 (correct, straight). Together meaning to make something correct.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal