误认 (wù rèn) — to misidentify; to mistake (someone or something for another)

Definition

误认 (wù rèn) is the formal written verb 'to misidentify, mistake X for Y' — stronger and more literary than the everyday 认错 or 看错. Often pairs with 成 to form 'mistake A for B'.

verb
to misidentifyto mistake (someone or something for another)

Examples

  • 误认。
    Wǒ bǎ tā wù rèn chéng le tā de shuāng bāo tāi gē ge.
    I mistook him for his twin brother.
  • 误认。
    Jǐng fāng wù rèn le fàn zuì xián yí rén de shēn fèn.
    The police misidentified the suspect's identity.
  • ，误认。
    Yóu yú dēng guāng hūn àn, tā wù rèn le lù biāo.
    Due to dim lighting, she misread the road sign.

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wùmistakenly/wrong
认rènrecognize

“误” (mistakenly/wrong) and “认” (recognize) together describe recognizing someone or something incorrectly.

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 →

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
讠Written in full as言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén认rèn
Same sound today

The left part 讠 shows speech, and the right part 人 gives the sound.

Open 认 →

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