時代錯誤

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The spelling is 時代錯誤, read じだいさくご, and it combines 時代, meaning era, with 錯誤, meaning error or misconception.
• Basic usage: 時代錯誤 is anachronism or outdated thinking that conflicts with the values or realities of the present era.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Mismatch with the present rather than mere age
  • Both examples use the form 時代錯誤. The criticism is not simply that something is old, but that judging by rank or restoring an old system unchanged is unsuitable for the present.
• Rank-based judgment and a proposal to restore an old system
  • 身分だけで人を評価する考えは時代錯誤だ。 — Judging people only by social rank is anachronistic.
  • 古い制度をそのまま戻す案には時代錯誤との批判が出た。 — A proposal to restore the old system unchanged was criticized as an anachronism.