Meaning of 错
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- mistake
- wrong
- bad
- interlocking
- complex
- to grind
- to polish
- to alternate
- surname Cuo
How to use 错
错 is very common after a verb to show the action was done wrong, like 写错 (xiě cuò, write wrongly) or 看错 (kàn cuò, misread). It also works alone as an adjective. Example: 对不起，我说错了。(Duìbuqǐ, wǒ shuō cuò le.) Sorry, I said it wrong.
错 (cuò) has the metal radical 钅 on the left and 昔 (xī, former times) on the right. Picture an old metal tool that has gone wrong, and you have 错, wrong or mistake.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 借 without the person radical, or mix 错 up with 借 (jiè, to borrow), which shares the same 昔 part. Remember that 错 has the metal radical 钅 and 借 has the person radical 亻.
错 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
错 cuò · mistake · 13 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
Related words
Words that share a character with 错.
| 不错 | bùcuò | correct; right |
| 错误 | cuòwù | mistaken; false; wrong; error; mistake |
| 没错 | méi cuò | that's right; sure! |
| 错过 | cuòguò | to miss (train, opportunity etc) |
| 过错 | guòcuò | mistake; fault |
| 认错 | rèncuò | to admit an error; to acknowledge one's mistake |
| 差错 | chācuò | mistake; slip-up; fault; error; accident; mishap |
| 错觉 | cuòjué | misconception; illusion |
| 错综复杂 | cuòzōng-fùzá | tangled and complicated (idiom) |
| 错位 | cuòwèi | to be wrongly positioned; to be dislocated; to be misplaced; (medicine) to be in malpositi |
| 错别字 | cuòbiézì | Chinese character error (collective term for 錯字|错字[cuo4 zi4] and 別字|别字[bie2 zi4]) |
| 纵横交错 | zònghéng-jiāocuò | criss-crossed (idiom) |
Questions about 错
What does 错 mean?
错 (cuò) means "mistake; wrong" and is used as a adjective and noun.
How do you write 错?
错 is made of 1 character: 错 (13 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 错 an HSK word?
Yes. 错 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 错 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 错 is written 錯.
Why does 不错 mean good if 错 means wrong?
不错 (bùcuò) literally means not wrong, but in everyday speech it is a warm way to say pretty good. For example, 这个菜不错 (zhège cài bùcuò) means this dish is quite good.
How do I say I made a mistake using 错?
You can say 我错了 (wǒ cuò le), I was wrong, which is also a common apology. To say you did a specific thing wrong, put 错 after the verb, as in 我做错了 (wǒ zuò cuò le), I did it wrong.