The character 误 — “mistake”: how to write it and what it means
mistake; be wrong
The Chinese character 误 is read wù and means “mistake; be wrong”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 误
误 has 9 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 误, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 误 is made of
On the left, 讠 “speech”; on the right, 吴 wú hints at the sound.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 误
- 误会misunderstanding; misunderstandHSK 4
- 错误mistake; wrongHSK 4
- 失误slip, errorHSK 5
- 耽误delay, waste (time)HSK 6
- 误解misunderstand; misunderstandingHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 误?
误 has 9 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 误 mean?
误 means “mistake; be wrong”. It appears in 误会 (“misunderstanding”), 错误 (“mistake”), 失误 (“slip”), 耽误 (“delay”).
How do you pronounce 误?
误 is read wù. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 误 have?
9 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 误 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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