<blockquote>
  <p>misread, misspoke, made a mistake, misrepresentation, mistranslation,
  misuse</p>
</blockquote>

<p>(看錯，說錯，做錯，寫錯或說錯，翻譯錯，用錯)</p>

<p>You can use [action]錯 to describe the situation. Here [action] is the action that is wrong. 他這題寫錯了。(He done wrongly at this exercise). Here 寫錯 can be interpreted as [action]錯. Here [action] is 寫. And 寫 is the action that is done wrongly.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-25T09:13:35.003Z
2020-04-25T09:13:35.003Z
000
<p>For a verb with the prefix mis- you can use 错 (incorrectly, wrongly) to express the same thing.</p>

<p>Examples:
I misread - 我看错了（Literally: I read wrongly)</p>

<p>I misspoke - 我说错了（Lit.: I spoke incorrectly)</p>

<p>I made a mistake - 我做错了/我搞错了（Literally: I did it incorrectly)</p>

<p>And for a noun with prefix mis-, one usually use 误 to replace it. While 错 is sometimes also acceptable for nouns, as in the few examples that you gave, I believe that 误 sounds more natural, and in words such as 误解，you cannot replace 误 by 错 at all (错解 is not a word). Note that this is quite subtle, since 错误 as a whole word also simply means "mistake", and 错 and 误 have very similar meanings, but their respective usages are not entirely interchangeable.</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<p>A mistranslation - 一个误译（“译”=“翻译”=translation）</p>

<p>A misunderstanding - 一个误解（“解”=“理解”=understanding）</p>

<p>A misuse - 一个误用（“用”=“使用”=use）</p>

<p>However, some words cannot be translated this way. For example, "misrepresentation" can only be translated as "歪曲" (which is an entirely figurative translation), but never as "误+something", because Chinese does not have a single character which means "representation“ on its own. （The two-character word ”反映“ means "representation", so one may consider translating "a misrepresentation" as "一个错误的反映". This is acceptable, but not as concise as “歪曲".)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-25T08:20:37.523Z
"misrepresentation" can be 误传.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-25T03:14:15.413Z
2020-04-25T03:14:15.413Z
violetiris
<p>In English we have the prefix mis- that conveys this. I misread, I misspoke, I made a mistake, etc. A misrepresentation, a mistranslation, a misuse, etc.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-25T02:34:16.023Z
Unless I misinterpret your question, how about  无 非 未 毋 没?
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-27T01:25:54.670Z
One more candidate: 误
tsh
<word-requests>
Is there a word to indicate incorrectness?
# Is there a word to indicate incorrectness?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-04-25)

In English we have the prefix mis- that conveys this. I misread, I misspoke, I made a mistake, etc. A misrepresentation, a mistranslation, a misuse, etc.

**Tags:** word-requests

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Unless I misinterpret your question, how about  无 非 未 毋 没?  
> **username_2**: One more candidate: 误  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-04-25. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

For a verb with the prefix mis- you can use 错 (incorrectly, wrongly) to express the same thing.

Examples:
I misread - 我看错了（Literally: I read wrongly)

I misspoke - 我说错了（Lit.: I spoke incorrectly)

I made a mistake - 我做错了/我搞错了（Literally: I did it incorrectly)

And for a noun with prefix mis-, one usually use 误 to replace it. While 错 is sometimes also acceptable for nouns, as in the few examples that you gave, I believe that 误 sounds more natural, and in words such as 误解，you cannot replace 误 by 错 at all (错解 is not a word). Note that this is quite subtle, since 错误 as a whole word also simply means "mistake", and 错 and 误 have very similar meanings, but their respective usages are not entirely interchangeable.

Examples:

A mistranslation - 一个误译（“译”=“翻译”=translation）

A misunderstanding - 一个误解（“解”=“理解”=understanding）

A misuse - 一个误用（“用”=“使用”=use）

However, some words cannot be translated this way. For example, "misrepresentation" can only be translated as "歪曲" (which is an entirely figurative translation), but never as "误+something", because Chinese does not have a single character which means "representation“ on its own. （The two-character word ”反映“ means "representation", so one may consider translating "a misrepresentation" as "一个错误的反映". This is acceptable, but not as concise as “歪曲".)

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: "misrepresentation" can be 误传.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-04-25. Score: 0

> misread, misspoke, made a mistake, misrepresentation, mistranslation,
> misuse

(看錯，說錯，做錯，寫錯或說錯，翻譯錯，用錯)

You can use [action]錯 to describe the situation. Here [action] is the action that is wrong. 他這題寫錯了。(He done wrongly at this exercise). Here 寫錯 can be interpreted as [action]錯. Here [action] is 寫. And 寫 is the action that is done wrongly.


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