革命

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 革命(かくめい) means a major change that fundamentally transforms a system or established way of doing things.
• Basic usage: It applies beyond politics and society to major technological changes, such as printing transforming the spread of knowledge.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Scale of change compared with 改革
  • 改革(かいかく) focuses on reforming institutions or methods. 革命 emphasizes a fundamental transformation, as the first example does for the far-reaching effects of technological development.