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Is there some sort of bigger difference between the two? I tried reading some
example sentences, but couldn't distinguish between them. The level of
politeness perhaps?
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2015-04-05T17:33:40.867
23620
2015-04-06T00:28:15.563
9786
question
nuances
What's the difference between 間違える and 誤る?
I usually think of it as...

> `間違える` > To make a mistake
>
> `誤る` > To make an error / to err

You can also say things like...

> `間違いなどがあれば、` > If there are mistakes,
>
> `誤りがあれば、` > If there are errors / typos,

A more polite email might use 誤る but it wouldn't be particularly out of place
to use 間違い in either case (informal or polite).
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2015-04-06T00:24:15.423
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2015-04-06T00:24:15.423
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer
「[間違]{まちが}える」 and 「[誤]{あやま}る」 are interchangeable much of the time as far as
**meaning** goes, but that does not mean we use the two equally often.

Native speakers learn to actively use 「間違える」 years before they learn to use
「誤る」. So, even into their adult life, they use 「間違える」 much more often in
**informal** conversation and writing.

「誤る」, therefore, sounds **less** informal and conversational. It is more often
used in writing than in speaking.

When saying "Oops! Made a mistake!" without thinkning, nearly everyone would
say 「間違えた！」 or 「間違えちゃった！」. I could **_not_** imagine a native speaker saying
「誤った！」 or「誤っちゃった！」 in that situation. That would be very, very rare.

**_Exception: When are they not interchangeable for meaning?_**

When expressing something like "to take the wrong path", it can be tricky.

「[道]{みち}を誤る」 would mean "To take the wrong path (and become delinquent, anti-
social, etc.)"

「道を間違える」 would mean "to take the wrong street".
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-06T00:28:15.563
23624
2015-04-06T00:28:15.563
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answer