根本

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 根本 is read as こんぽん and is a noun for the underlying basis, root, or fundamental cause of a thing, problem, or system.
• Basic usage: A root problem beneath surface symptoms appears in 根本の問題, while reviewing a system from the ground up appears in 根本から見直す.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The underlying basis rather than the surface
  • It focuses on the cause, principle, or structure supporting the whole rather than a surface feature or isolated part.
• Difference from 基本
  • Unlike the term for basic principles or a standard foundation, this word emphasizes the deepest root of a problem or structure.