Chinese symbol for “mistake”
错
cuò
Traditional: 錯
mistake; wrong; bad; interlocking
The closest CC-CEDICT match for mistake is 错 (cuò), defined as: mistake; wrong; bad; interlocking; complex; to grind.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “mistake”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 误 (誤) | wù | mistake; error |
| 过错 (過錯) | guò cuò | mistake; fault |
| 差错 (差錯) | chā cuò | mistake; slip-up; fault; error; accident; mishap |
| 拧 (擰) | nǐng | mistake; to twist |
| 搞错 (搞錯) | gǎo cuò | mistake; to make a mistake |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 错.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 错误 (錯誤) | cuò wù | mistaken; false; wrong; error; mistake |
| 不错 (不錯) | bù cuò | correct; right |
| 没错 (沒錯) | méi cuò | that's right; sure! |
| 错过 (錯過) | cuò guò | to miss (train, opportunity etc) |
| 过错 (過錯) | guò cuò | mistake; fault |
| 出错 (出錯) | chū cuò | to make a mistake; error |
See also: Japanese symbol for “mistake”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.