Dictionary › 错

错

cuò

HSK 2 Character Traditional 錯

What 错 means

1. mistake
2. wrong
3. bad
4. interlocking
5. complex
6. to grind
7. to polish
8. to alternate
9. to stagger
10. to miss
11. to let slip
12. to evade
13. to inlay with gold or silver

Other readings

错 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• Cuòsurname Cuo

Example sentences

• 错。
  Wrong.
• 错！
  Wrong!
• 不错。
  Not bad.
• 错误！
  Wrong!
• 错的是你。
  It was you that were wrong.
• 我错了吗？
  Was I wrong?

Words starting with 错

• 错误cuò wùmistaken; false; wrong; error; mistake
• 错过cuò guòto miss (train, opportunity etc)
• 错觉cuò juémisconception; illusion; misperception
• 错别字cuò bié zìChinese character error (collective term for 错字
• 错位cuò wèito be wrongly positioned; to be dislocated; to be misplaced…
• 错综复杂cuò zōng fù zátangled and complicated (idiom)
• 错失cuò shīfault; mistake; to miss (a chance)
• 错愕cuò èastonished; startled
• 错落cuò luòstrewn at random; disorderly; untidy
• 错乱cuò luànin disorder; deranged (mentally)
• 错落有致cuò luò yǒu zhìin picturesque disorder (idiom); irregular arrangement with charming effect
• 错字cuò zìincorrectly written Chinese character
• 错车cuò chēto give right of way to another vehicle; the wrong bus
• 错开cuò kāito stagger (times)
• 错怪cuò guàito blame sb wrongly
• 错动cuò dòngto move relative to one another
• 错爱cuò àimisplaced kindness; humble term: I do not deserve your many kindnesses.
• 错时cuò shíto stagger (holidays, working hours etc)
• 错案cuò àna misjudged legal case; a miscarriage (of justice)
• 错用cuò yòngto misuse; to misapply
• 错票cuò piàoerror note (i.e. misprinted banknote)
• 错处cuò chufault
• 错视cuò shìoptical illusion; trick of the eye; parablepsia
• 错解cuò jiěmisinterpretation; mistaken explanation

Words containing 错

• 不错bù cuòcorrect; right; not bad
• 没错méi cuòthat's right; sure!; rest assured!
• 做错zuò cuòto make an error
• 出错chū cuòto make a mistake; error
• 过错guò cuòmistake; fault; responsibility (for a fault)
• 搞错gǎo cuòmistake; to make a mistake; to blunder
• 认错rèn cuòto admit an error; to acknowledge one's mistake
• 交错jiāo cuòto crisscross; to intertwine
• 走错zǒu cuòto go the wrong way; to take the wrong (road, exit etc)
• 差错chā cuòmistake; slip-up; fault; error; accident; mishap
• 弄错nòng cuòto err; to get sth wrong; to miscalculate
• 看错kàn cuòto misinterpret what one sees or reads; to misjudge (sb); to mistake (sb for sb else)
• 记错jì cuòto remember incorrectly
• 听错tīng cuòto mishear
• 改错gǎi cuòto correct an error
• 大错特错dà cuò tè cuòto be gravely mistaken (idiom)
• 纵横交错zòng héng jiāo cuòcriss-crossed (idiom)
• 阴差阳错yīn chā yáng cuò(idiom) due to an unexpected turn of events
• 纠错jiū cuòto correct an error
• 纳木错Nà mù cuòNamtso or Lake Nam (officially Nam Co), mountain lake at Nakchu in central Tibet
• 冤假错案yuān jiǎ cuò ànunjust, fake and false charges (in a legal case)
• 报错bào cuò(computing) to report an error
• 大错dà cuòblunder
• 失错shī cuòto make a careless mistake; mistake; slip-up

Characters built on 昔

These share the phonetic component 昔 (xī), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 措cuòto handle; to manage; to put in order
• 厝cuòto lay in place; to put; to place a coffin in a temporary location pending burial

Characters that look like 错

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 锤chuíhammer; to hammer into shape; weight (e.g. of a steelyard or balance)
• 锚máoanchor
• 锆gàozirconium (chemistry)
• 锉cuò(literary) to fracture (a bone); (literary) to cut; to hack
• 锘nuònobelium (chemistry)
• 锗zhěgermanium (chemistry)

Sounds the same

Read cuò, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 措to handle; to manage; to put in order
• 挫obstructed; to fail; to oppress
• 厝to lay in place; to put; to place a coffin in a temporary location pending burial
• 锉(literary) to fracture (a bone); (literary) to cut; to hack
• 剒to cut; to carve
• 棤rough tree bark
• 莝to chop straw fine for animals
• 蓌to squat (in salutation)