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误区 (wù qū) — common misconception; mistaken belief; cognitive trap

Definition

误区 is a 'zone of misunderstanding' — a common mistaken belief shared by many people, not a single slip. Unlike 误会/误解 (one-off misunderstandings between people), 误区 points to a widespread false idea (e.g. about health, learning).

noun
common misconceptionmistaken beliefcognitive trap

Examples

  • 误区。
    Hěn duō rén duì jiàn kāng yǐn shí cún zài wù qū.
    Many people have misconceptions about healthy eating.
  • 误区。
    Zhè ge wù qū zài jiā zhǎng zhōng hěn pǔ biàn.
    This misconception is very common among parents.
  • 误区，。
    Yào zǒu chū wù qū, xū yào duō xué xí kē xué zhī shi.
    To get out of the misconception, you need to learn more scientific knowledge.

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wùmistake
区qūarea

误 gives the sense of error and 区 an area, together meaning a zone of mistaken ideas.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 區; 区 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 區 is made from 匸 and 品; the simplified 区 is a shorthand.

Open 区 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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