错 (cuò, "wrong") and 对 (duì, "right") are a matched pair of resultative complements that stamp a verdict directly onto the action. English does this with a separate adverb — "you said it wrongly," "you got it right" — or a whole extra clause. Chinese fuses the judgment onto the verb: 说错 is "said-and-it-came-out-wrong," 做对 is "did-and-got-it-right." The judgment isn't a comment added afterwards; it's baked into the single event. One asymmetry to note from the start: 错 is far more frequent as a complement than 对, because we flag mistakes constantly, and 对 is mostly limited to actions that have a definite right answer.
错 = it came out wrong
Attach 错 to any verb whose output can be mistaken, and you get "did it, and it was the wrong one." The high-frequency members are worth memorising as a set:
| Verb + 错 | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 说错 | shuō cuò | say the wrong thing / misspeak |
| 写错 | xiě cuò | write wrongly |
| 走错 | zǒu cuò | go the wrong way |
| 打错 | dǎ cuò | dial the wrong number |
| 认错 | rèn cuò | mistake (someone) for another |
不好意思，我打错电话了。
bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ dǎ cuò diànhuà le
Sorry, I dialled the wrong number. (informal) — 打错 = dialled and it was wrong.
这个字你写错了，少了一横。
zhège zì nǐ xiě cuò le, shǎo le yì héng
You wrote this character wrong — it's missing a stroke. (neutral) — 写错 = miswrote it.
我们好像走错路了。
wǒmen hǎoxiàng zǒu cuò lù le
I think we've gone the wrong way. (informal) — 走错 = took the wrong route.
对不起，我认错人了。
duìbuqǐ, wǒ rèn cuò rén le
Sorry, I mistook you for someone else. (informal) — 认错人 = misidentified the person.
对 = it came out right
对 works the same way but with a positive verdict, and only where there is a correct answer to hit — problems, guesses, quiz items, characters:
这道题你做对了。
zhè dào tí nǐ zuò duì le
You got this problem right. (neutral) — 做对 = did it and it's correct.
我猜对了，果然是他！
wǒ cāi duì le, guǒrán shì tā!
I guessed right — it really was him! (informal) — 猜对 = guessed correctly.
老师，这个字我写对了没有？
lǎoshī, zhège zì wǒ xiě duì le méiyǒu?
Teacher, did I write this character correctly? (neutral) — 写对 in a V-了-没有 question.
The 不错 / 不对 trap
Here is the trap that catches every English speaker. You cannot negate these by putting 不 in front to mean "did it wrongly" — the strings 不错 and 不对 already exist with unrelated meanings. 不错 (bú cuò) is a fixed idiom meaning "not bad / pretty good", and 不对 (bú duì) is a stative judgment "incorrect / that's not right," not a resultative on an action.
这家餐厅的菜味道不错。
zhè jiā cāntīng de cài wèidào bú cuò
The food at this restaurant is pretty good. (informal) — 不错 = 'not bad', a compliment.
你说得不对，应该是这样。
nǐ shuō de bú duì, yīnggāi shì zhèyàng
What you said isn't right — it should be like this. (neutral) — 不对 = a verdict 'incorrect', not V-错.
Negation: 没 for the completed sense
To say an action didn't come out wrong — "I didn't misspeak," "I didn't miswrite it" — use 没 with the whole compound: 没说错, 没写错. As always with resultatives, never 不.
别紧张，你没说错，他确实是这么说的。
bié jǐnzhāng, nǐ méi shuō cuò, tā quèshí shì zhème shuō de
Don't panic — you didn't say it wrong, that's exactly what he said. (informal) — 没说错 = it wasn't wrong.
我检查了三遍，确定没写错。
wǒ jiǎnchá le sān biàn, quèdìng méi xiě cuò
I checked three times — I'm sure I didn't write it wrong. (neutral) — 没写错.
Common Mistakes
1. Using 不对 / 不错 to mean "did it wrongly." 不错 means "pretty good"; the resultative is V-错了.
❌ 我写不错了这个字。
Wrong on two counts — 不错 means 'not bad', and it can't sit inside the verb; use 写错了.
✅ 我写错了这个字。
wǒ xiě cuò le zhège zì
I wrote this character wrong. (informal) — 写错 for the mistake.
2. Negating the completed sense with 不. "Didn't say it wrong" is 没说错, not 不说错.
❌ 我不说错这个词。
Incorrect — for 'I didn't misspeak', use 没说错.
✅ 我没说错这个词。
wǒ méi shuō cuò zhège cí
I didn't say this word wrong. (neutral) — 没说错 for the completed negation.
3. Splitting the object between the verb and 错/对. The complement clings to the verb; the object follows.
❌ 我打电话错了。
Incorrect — 电话 can't sit between 打 and 错.
✅ 我打错电话了。
wǒ dǎ cuò diànhuà le
I dialled the wrong number. (informal) — 打错 first, then 电话.
4. Overusing 对 where 好 is needed. 对 requires a right answer; for "did it well/properly" use 好.
❌ 我把这个工作做对了。
Odd — a job isn't 'right/wrong' like a quiz; 'did it properly' is 做好了.
✅ 我把这个工作做好了。
wǒ bǎ zhège gōngzuò zuò hǎo le
I've done this job properly. (neutral) — 做好 for completing well, 做对 only for a correct answer.
Key Takeaways
- 错 (cuò) and 对 (duì) fuse a verdict onto the verb: 说错, 写错, 走错, 打错 (wrong); 做对, 猜对, 写对 (right).
- 错 is far more common than 对; use 对 only where there's a correct answer to hit.
- 不错 = "pretty good" and 不对 = "that's incorrect" — neither means "did it wrongly." See 不错 meaning.
- Negation: 没说错 / 没写错 for "didn't get it wrong," never 不.
- For "did it well" with no single right answer, reach for 做好, not 做对.
Related Topics
- Resultative 完: Finishing an ActionHSK 2 — 完 (wán) is the resultative that says an action reached its endpoint or a quantity was used up — 吃完 (finish eating), 做完 (finish doing), 用完 (use up); distinct from 了, negated with 没.
- Resultative 清楚: Doing It ClearlyHSK 3 — 清楚 (qīngchu, clearly) is a two-syllable resultative complement — 看清楚 (see clearly), 听清楚 (hear clearly), 说清楚 (explain clearly), 写清楚 (write legibly) — proving the pattern is about result, not word length.
- Negating Resultatives: 没, Never 不HSK 2 — Resultative complements are negated with 没(有), not 不 — 没听懂 'didn't understand', 没做完 'didn't finish' — because a result is about whether an action reached its outcome; the 不 you may reach for only appears in the separate potential form (听不懂 'can't understand').