嘗試錯誤

简 尝试错误 · 繁 嘗試錯誤
Mandarin · pinyin cháng shì cuò wù

Meanings

  1. to proceed by trial and error; to learn by making mistakes
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

嘗
Look up this written character
試
Look up this written character
錯
cuò · error, blunder, mistake, wrong
誤
Look up this written character
尝
cháng · taste; experience, experiment
试
shì · test, try, experiment
错
cuò · error, blunder, mistake; wrong
误
wù · err, make mistake; interfere
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–4–4–4 · chang2 shi4 cuo4 wu4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

嘗試錯誤 · find source passages ↗ · 尝试错误 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

  1. trial and error

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack