误诊 (wù zhěn) — (noun) misdiagnosis; (verb) to misdiagnose | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A medical term meaning 'misdiagnosis' (noun) or 'to misdiagnose' (verb) — a doctor gives the wrong diagnosis. Used in clinical, legal, and news contexts, not casual conversation.

noun

misdiagnosis

verb

to misdiagnose

Examples

误诊。
Yī shēng chéng rèn wù zhěn shì kě néng fā shēng de.
The doctor admitted that a misdiagnosis can happen.
误诊。
Nà wèi yī shēng wù zhěn le tā de bìng qíng.
That doctor misdiagnosed his condition.
误诊。
Zhè cì wù zhěn dǎo zhì le yán zhòng de hòu guǒ.
This misdiagnosis led to serious consequences.

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.

诊zhěndiagnose

误 is wrong, and 诊 is diagnosing; together they mean a mistaken diagnosis.

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.

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 診; 诊 is its simplified writing.

言㐱診

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

㐱

㐱㐱診zhěn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 診, the left part 言 relates to speech, and the right part 㐱 gives the sound; the simplified 诊 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Medicine & Treatment

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