误 (wù) is a Chinese character meaning “mistake”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 吴 (Wu (a surname; name of an ancient state)), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “mistake”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
讠 + 吴
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 誤，謬也。从言吳聲 (简化后 言→讠)
Memory aid
Speech (讠) next to Mr. Wu (吴): Wu talks fast and gets the facts wrong — his words are a mistake.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 错误cuò wùmistake; error; wrong误 = wù
- 误会wù huìto misunderstand; misunderstanding误 = wù
- 耽误dān wuto delay; to hold up误 = wù
- 贻误yí wùto delay and thereby spoil; to bungle through negligence误 = wù
Go deeper
All readings
mistake; error
mistake; error; to miss (a chance or deadline); to harm; by accident
错；弄错。也指耽误、妨害，或不是故意的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 错误cuò wùmistake; error; wrong误 = wù
- 误会wù huìto misunderstand; misunderstanding误 = wù
- 耽误dān wuto delay; to hold up误 = wù
- 贻误yí wùto delay and thereby spoil; to bungle through negligence误 = wù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 误 mean?
误 (wù) means mistake; error; to miss (a chance or deadline); to harm; by accident.
How do you pronounce 误?
It is pronounced wù.
What parts is 误 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 吴 (Wu (a surname; name of an ancient state)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 誤，謬也。从言吳聲 (简化后 言→讠). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 误 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 误?
讠. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 误?
Common ones are 错误 and 误会. The reading of 误 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.