Kilo Lingo

(cuò wù) - error, mistake, wrong in Mandarin

cuò

Traditional: 錯誤

Line drawing of 错误
Coloured illustration of 错误
HSK 4
#863 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

error, mistake, wrong

Word origin

The word 错误 combines 错 'wrong' with 误 'to err, mistake'. 误 is a phono-semantic compound with 讠/言 (speech) as meaning element and 吴 (wú) as phonetic. Together they name an error or mistake.

Origin
compound
Root
错 (cuò, wrong: 金 metal + 昔 phonetic) + 误 (wù, to err: 言 speech + 吴 phonetic)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 错

Stroke order for 误

Examples

This is my mistake.

Admitting mistakes is important.

Please correct the errors.

This mistake is very serious.

He is not willing to admit his mistake.

错误 (cuò wù) means error, mistake, wrong. It is used as a noun in everyday Mandarin speech.

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This word is part of lesson 18.