正

zhèng

right, proper, correct

Meaning

Physical/Spatial: Upright, straight, or centered; denotes a lack of leaning or deviation.
Normative/Moral: Proper, orthodox, or righteous. Refers to normative correctness (adherence to ritual or moral law) rather than factual accuracy.
Hierarchical/Administrative: Principal, chief, or primary. Denotes the primary holder of a rank or role in contrast to deputies or subordinates.

Grammar and usage

Modifier: Used as an adjective meaning legitimate, upright, or principal.
Verb: To rectify, make straight, or bring back into alignment; often implies restoring a lost order rather than simply fixing an error.
Adverb: Precisely, exactly.

Distinctions

Contrast with 右 (yòu): While both can be translated as "right," 正 refers to quality and alignment (correctness), whereas 右 refers strictly to direction.
Semantic Opposites: Often clarified by the presence of 邪 (the heterodox/deviant) or 偏 (the biased/slanting).

History and forms

Readings: Fanqie: 諸盈之盛; Tang-period: *jiɛ̀ng.
Usage: The adverbial sense ("precisely," "exactly") is more characteristic of later texts.

Translator notes

If 邪 appears in the passage, 正 almost certainly carries the sense of "orthodox" or "righteous."

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.