错失良机 (cuò shī liáng jī) — to miss a golden opportunity; to let a great ch…

Definition

A formal verb phrase meaning 'to miss a golden opportunity.' Use it for serious regrets (career, business) rather than small everyday chances like 错过.

verb

to miss a golden opportunityto let a great chance slip by

Examples

错失良机。
Tā yīn wèi yóu yù ér cuò shī liáng jī le zhè cì shēng zhí de jī huì.
He missed this promotion opportunity because of hesitation.
错失良机，。
Hěn duō gōng sī zài yì qíng hòu cuò shī liáng jī, méi yǒu jí shí zhuǎn xíng.
Many companies missed a golden opportunity after the pandemic, failing to transform in time.
，错失良机。
Rú guǒ nǐ bù zhuā zhù zhè ge xiàng mù, jiù huì cuò shī liáng jī.
If you don't seize this project, you will miss a golden opportunity.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

错失miss

错cuòwrongly失shīlose

偏正Modifier + head

良机good opportunity

良liánggood机jīopportunity

偏正Modifier + head

错失 supplies the sense of losing, and 良机 gives the good chance that is lost.

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.

金昔錯

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.

手手shǒu
乙乙yǐ

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

良 possibly depicts corridors and a room.

Open 良 →

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

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

几jǐ机jī

Same sound today