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误导 (wù dǎo) — to mislead, to misguide

Definition

误导 means to actively lead someone toward a wrong conclusion through information or example. Unlike 混淆 (to blur or mix up boundaries), 误导 implies deliberate or misleading influence that causes a mistaken judgment.

verb
to misleadto misguide

Examples

  • 误导。
    Zhè tiáo xīn wén wù dǎo le hěn duō rén.
    This piece of news misled a lot of people.
  • 误导。
    Bié bèi nà xiē cuò wù de shù jù wù dǎo.
    Don't be misled by those incorrect data.
  • 误导。
    Tā de yán lùn kě néng wù dǎo gōng zhòng.
    His remarks might mislead the public.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

误wùwrongly
导dǎoguide

误 gives the wrongness and 导 gives the guiding, so the word means to lead someone wrongly.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 誤; 误 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
吳
吳wú誤wù
Same sound today

The traditional form 誤 uses 言 (speech) for meaning and 吳 for sound, giving the idea of speaking an error; the simplified 误 is a later shorthand.

Open 误 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 導; 导 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
道
道dào導
Same sound today

The traditional form 導 pairs 道 (path) as the sound part with 寸 (hand), giving the sense of leading someone. The simplified 导 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 导 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Communication & Speech

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