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错失 (cuò shī) — mistake, error, fault

Definition

noun
mistakeerrorfault

Examples

  • 错失。
    Gōng zuò zhōng chū xiàn le yì xiē cuò shī.
    Some mistakes occurred at work.
  • 错失。
    Zhè cì kǎo shì tā yīn wèi cū xīn fàn le jǐ gè cuò shī.
    He made several mistakes in this exam due to carelessness.
  • 错失。
    Zhè ge jì huà zhōng de cuò shī dǎo zhì le shī bài.
    The mistakes in this plan led to failure.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

错cuòmistake
失shīloss

The words for mistake and loss combine to mean an error or fault.

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.

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 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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