Western music theory was introduced to China through the translation of music literature.Semitone and chromatic are important music theory terms in the West.The concepts represented by these two terms are not complicated.However,for a long time,many Chinese music scholars have often confused the conceptual differences between semitone and chromatic.In their translations or writings,they have generally wrongly translated chromatic[变音]as semitone[半音]or confused chromatic with semitone.The reason for this phenomenon,from the source,is the misinterpretation of terms in early translations.This article has systematically reviewed the Chinese translations of terms related to the word“chromatic”in Japanese and Chinese translations,and on this basis,also sorts out the misuse of the related terms in the works of domestic scholars,and provides suggestions for the correct translation and application of the relevant foreign terms.