改善
かいぜん · kaizen · JLPT N3 · noun
improvement
🔧 改善 = change (改) + good (善): changing things for the better
改 (kai) means to reform or alter, as in 改革 kaikaku, reform. 善 (zen) means good or virtue. English borrowed kaizen through Toyota, where it names steady, small improvements made every day.
改 — 己 (self) + 攴/攵 (action/strike)
改 is a compound of 己 'self' and 攵 (the action radical, originally a hand holding a stick). The image is of striking or applying force to oneself or one's situation, suggesting reform or correction. From this came the modern meaning 'to change, alter, correct'.
善 — sheep 羊 over 言 (speech), simplified to 善
Originally written with 羊 (sheep, auspicious) above two 言 (speech) elements, depicting auspicious or kind words. The form was simplified to one mouth-like base under 羊. The meaning shifted from 'auspicious speech' to the broader senses 'good, virtuous, skilled at.'