错 (cuò): wrong, mistake
错 (cuò) is a Chinese character meaning “wrong, mistake.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 钅 (structural) and 昔 (structural). It ranks #638 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 错 gold 钅 that once was 昔 but is lost. Its radical form 钅 (metal) appears in many related characters such as 钱 (qián, money), 钟 (zhōng, clock, bell), 铁 (tiě, iron).
Definitions
- wrong, mistake
Etymology & Origin
ideographicGold 钅 that once was 昔 but is lost
Decomposition: ⿰钅昔 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 错 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 错
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 不错adjective | bù cuò | correct | 2 |
| 错误adjective/noun | cuò wù | mistaken | 4 |
| 错过verb | cuò guò | to miss (train, opportunity etc) | 4 |
| 认错verb | rèn cuò | to admit an error | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 没错 | méi cuò | that's right |
| 出错 | chū cuò | to make a mistake |
| 过错 | guò cuò | mistake |
| 错乱 | cuò luàn | in disorder |
| 差错 | chā cuò | mistake |
| 错觉 | cuò jué | misconception |
| 错怪 | cuò guài | to blame sb wrongly |
| 错失 | cuò shī | fault |
| 交错 | jiāo cuò | to crisscross |
| 错位 | cuò wèi | to be wrongly positioned |
| 错车 | cuò chē | to give right of way to another vehicle |
| 错综复杂 | cuò zōng fù zá | tangled and complicated (idiom) |
| 错字 | cuò zì | incorrect character |
| 阴差阳错 | yīn chā yáng cuò | (idiom) due to an unexpected turn of events |
| 错别字 | cuò bié zì | incorrectly written or mispronounced characters |
错 appears in 100 compound words: 36 as the first character, 40 as the last, and 24 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 错 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (17)
to be as wrong as wrong can be; to be utterly wrong; to be grievously mistaken
to continue doing a thing that has been done incorrectly while adapting to the error made
to be mentally deranged; insane; delirious; mental derangement; insanity; amentia; psychosis
great tangled root system; complicated affair; complicated and difficult to deal with
to make the same mistake(s) again and again; to continue making error after error
to know one has made a mistake and is able to rectify it; to take responsibility for one's behaviour
to be mentally deranged; insane; delirious; mental derangement; insanity; amentia; psychosis
Showing 12 of 17 idioms containing 错.
Example Sentences
这个报告里有几处错误，需要重新核对数据。
Zhè gè bàogào lǐ yǒu jǐ chù cuòwù, xūyào chóngxīn héduì shùjù.
There are several errors in this report; the data needs to be rechecked.
居家消毒有什么误区?这些常见错误可能伤身又无效
jū jiā xiāo dú yǒu shén má wù qū ? zhè xiē cháng jiàn cuò wù kě néng shāng shēn yòu wú xiào
What are the misunderstandings of home disinfection? These common mistakes can be both harmful and ineffective
...码和欧洲码的尺码单位区别?一文读懂不再买错
. . . mǎ hé ōu zhōu mǎ de chǐ mǎ dān wèi qū bié ? yī wén dòu dǒng bù zài mǎi cuò
... What is the difference between size units and European sizes? Read the article and buy it wrong
经济问题加剧、国际声势大减 普亭错估战争代价
jīng jì wèn tí jiā jù , guó jì shēng shì dà jiǎn pǔ tíng cuò gū zhàn zhēng dài jià
Economic problems intensify, international momentum is greatly reduced Putin misestimated the cost of war
智谱认GLM-5大模型犯三错误
zhì pǔ rèn G L M 5 dà mó xíng fàn sān cuò wù
Zhipu recognizes that the GLM-5 model made three mistakes
杭州一步行街被指写错北宋诗人名字,“晁冲之”写成“..
háng zhōu yī bù háng jiē bèi zhǐ xiě cuò běi sòng shī rén míng zì , 晁 chōng zhī xiě chéng . .
A pedestrian street in Hangzhou was accused of writing the name of a Northern Song poet wrongly, "Chao Chongzhi" was written as "Chao Chongzhi", "Chao Chongzhi" was written as "Chao Chongzhi", "Chao Chongzhi" was written as "Chao Chongzhi"...
款式很不错，不过有没有别的颜色？
Kuǎnshì hěn bù cuò, bùguò yǒuméiyǒu biéde yánsè?
The style is nice, but do you have it in a different color?
你可以告诉我我错在哪儿吗？
Nǐ kěyǐ gàosu wǒ wǒ cuò zài nǎr ma?
Will you tell me where I'm wrong?
错误是如何显示出来的？
Cuòwù shì rúhé xiǎnshì chūlái de?
How is the error observed?
你确认那是可纠正的错误吗？
Nǐ quèrèn nà shì kě jiūzhèng de cuòwù ma?
Can you confirm that it is a correctable error?
Character Family
钅 Radical Family — Characters sharing the metal radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 错 (cuò) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 错 and 正?
How many strokes does 错 have?
What is the radical of 错?
What are the components of 错?
What are common words containing 错?
What characters sound the same as 错 (cuò)?
Is 错 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 错 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.