<entry id="2224793" stat="A" corpus="jmdict" type="jmdict">
<ent_corp type="jmdict">jmdict</ent_corp>
<ent_seq>2176300</ent_seq>
<k_ele>
<keb>過ちて改めざるこれを過ちという</keb>
</k_ele>
<k_ele>
<keb>過ちて改めざる是を過ちという</keb>
</k_ele>
<k_ele>
<keb>過ちて改めざる是を過ちと謂う</keb>
</k_ele>
<r_ele>
<reb>あやまちてあらためざるこれをあやまちという</reb>
</r_ele>
<sense>
<pos>&exp;</pos>
<misc>&proverb;</misc>
<s_inf>from the Analects of Confucius</s_inf>
<gloss>a man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is committing another mistake</gloss>
</sense>
<info>
<audit time="2007-05-30 00:00:00" stat="A">
<upd_detl>Entry created</upd_detl>
</audit>
<audit time="2019-03-05 19:17:59" stat="A">
<upd_uid>Marcus</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Marcus Richert</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_refs>daij
with a comma in daijr (過ちて改めざる，これを過ちという)</upd_refs>
<upd_diff>@@ -5 +5 @@
-&lt;keb&gt;過ちて改めざる是を過ちと謂う&lt;/keb&gt;
+&lt;keb&gt;過ちて改めざるこれを過ちという&lt;/keb&gt;
@@ -11 +11 @@
-&lt;keb&gt;過ちて改めざるこれを過ちという&lt;/keb&gt;
+&lt;keb&gt;過ちて改めざる是を過ちと謂う&lt;/keb&gt;
@@ -18,2 +18,3 @@
-&lt;pos&gt;&amp;v5u;&lt;/pos&gt;
-&lt;gloss&gt;to err and not change one's ways, this is what it is to err (from Analects of Confucius)&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;misc&gt;&amp;proverb;&lt;/misc&gt;
+&lt;s_inf&gt;from the Analects of Confucius&lt;/s_inf&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;to err and not change one's ways, this is what it is to err&lt;/gloss&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2023-03-15 13:24:12" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_name>Brian Krznarich</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>The more elegant, deleted, gloss is found in one place outside of J-E dictionaries: an article on Mitsubishi making reparations for actions taken during the second Second Sino-Japanese War. And it's a translation from Japanese, so it got the gloss from here (or wherever we got it, if it's not ours).

Since this is Confucius, we've got this in English too. While there are of course variations, the English gloss I've put here seems to be the most common formulation. Google image search for "a man who has" + Confucius will return almost exclusively this form.  (I did poke around at other structures, but this was the most common I found).

I don't want to be overly critical of the old gloss, but "to change ones ways" means "to learn learn from your error and be better going forward", or "learn from your mistakes so you don't repeat them".  This quote seems to be pretty specifically about correcting the precise mistake you made, which is also what the Japanese spokesman for Mitsubishi would seem to have been saying.  (It's not enough that they are a better company today, they must correct their past mistakes as well - to not do so is another mistake).</upd_detl>
<upd_refs>Editorial: Mitsubishi Materials fulfills historical responsibility with settlement
(has old gloss as translation from Japanese, but article post-dates jmdict entry by many years)
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160603/p2a/00m/0na/010000c

https://dictionary.sanseido-publ.co.jp/column/kotowaza04
過ちを犯していながら改めないのが、ほんとうの過ちである。過失はやむを得ないが、過ちと気づいたらすぐ改めよ。</upd_refs>
<upd_diff>@@ -20 +20 @@
-&lt;gloss&gt;to err and not change one's ways, this is what it is to err&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;a man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is committing another mistake&lt;/gloss&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2023-03-15 13:50:11" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_name>Brian Krznarich</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>Note: I don't read Chinese at all, nor am I a Confucian scholar.  I have seen some translations calling the second mistake  "the real mistake" (or the greater error, etc.).  I don't think that's in the Japanese quote (even though Sanseido sneaks it into the meaning "ほんとうの過ちである").  I can't speak to the Chinese.

But the way Mitsubishi used it, it clearly cannot have had that nuance, as the original mistake was the use of forced labor of thousands of people, along with countless associated deaths.  I don't think it would be possible to call ignoring it a "bigger mistake", however big ignoring it might be.

Since I also saw this interpretation, I thought I'd throw this information in in case you have other ideas.</upd_detl>
<upd_refs>(All quotes below, not me)

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-interpretations-of-the-Confucius-saying-A-man-who-has-committed-a-mistake-and-doesnt-correct-it-is-committing-another-mistake
There is a slight problem with the translation you are asking about. The original quote comes from the 15the chapter of the Analects, 子曰過而不改是謂過矣。A better translation would be “A mistake that is not corrected is a real mistake” or “You can only say somebody made a mistake if it is not corrected.”

The word used, 過, means going too far, and is related to 旤/禍 disaster.

Confucius knew that people are prone to err. He did not pronounce Commandments or rules and tell people to obey. Rather, he taught that every moment is different, so you should act according to the needs of the moment. He did not lay down hard and fast laws for people to obey.</upd_refs>
</audit>
<audit time="2023-03-15 23:39:02" stat="A">
<upd_uid>jwb</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Jim Breen</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
</audit>
</info>
</entry>