command

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 令 relates to commands and is read れい in 命令, 法令, and 司令.
• Basic usage: 命令, read めいれい, means an order directing someone to take an action.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• An order and a request
  • 命令に従う means to follow an order.
  • 命令 has the force of directing another person's action, so not every casual request is appropriately called an order.
• Regulations and operational commands
  • 法令, read ほうれい, means laws and regulations; 司令, read しれい, means a command issued to a unit or similar organization.
  • The shared character does not erase the distinction between a personal order, public regulations, and an operational command.