Definition
错别字 (cuò bié zì) refers specifically to incorrectly written Chinese characters — either a character that is formed wrongly (错字) or a correct character used in the wrong place because it sounds similar (别字). It is a distinct term from general words for 'mistake' like 错误 or 差错, which are not limited to character writing.
noun
incorrectly written Chinese characters (wrongly formed or misused homophones)
Examples
- 错别字。Kǎoshì 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 duǎnxìn shí jīngcháng yǒu cuò bié zì.He often has incorrectly written characters when sending text messages.
- 错别字，。Zhè piān zuòwén de cuò bié zì tài duō le, xūyào chóng xiě.This essay has too many incorrectly written characters; it needs to be rewritten.
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