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错别字 (cuò bié zì) — incorrectly written Chinese characters (wrongly formed or misused homophones)

Definition

A character-level writing error: either mistyped (wrong stroke form) or misused (wrong character for the sound/meaning). Unlike 错误 (any general mistake) or 差错 (a slip or accident), 错别字 is specifically about wrong characters on the page.

noun
incorrectly written Chinese characters (wrongly formed or misused homophones)

Examples

  • 错别字。
    Kǎo shì shí xiě cuò bié zì huì bèi kòu fēn.
    Writing incorrectly written characters during an exam will lose you points.
  • 错别字。
    Tā fā duǎn xìn shí jīng cháng yǒu cuò bié zì.
    He often has incorrectly written characters when sending text messages.
  • 错别字，。
    Zhè piān zuò wén de cuò bié zì tài duō le, xū yào chóng xiě.
    This essay has too many incorrectly written characters; it needs to be rewritten.

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.

错别wrong or mistaken
错cuòwrong别biémistaken
联合Coordinate
字zìcharacter

错别 says wrong or mistaken, and 字 is the character.

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 錯; 错 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
昔
昔xī錯cuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 錯 pairs 金 (metal) with 昔 as a sound part; the simplified 错 is a later abbreviation.

Open 错 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 別; 别 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 別 pairs 冎 (bone) with 刀 (knife), showing a knife cutting up bone and flesh. The simplified 别 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 别 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
子
子zǐ字zì
Same sound today

字 pairs 宀 (roof) with 子 (child); 子 gives the sound, while 宀 relates to the meaning.

Open 字 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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