<p>（a）不错 
（b）没错
（c）both</p>

<p>不错 =  not so bad, quite good, emphasis on the expression of questioner.</p>

<p>没错 =  nothing wrong, emphasis on the confirmatory meaning.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-06T12:58:06.107Z
2013-06-06T23:23:57.350Z
2013-06-06T23:23:57.350Z
Sheychu
<p>You already got the idea. To answer the situational questions:</p>
<p><strong>(a) praise somebody's work?</strong></p>
<p>Use 不错. If you use 没错, it means the content of the work is right.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>他文章写得不错。He writes good articles.</p>
<p>他文章写的没错。What is written in his article is right.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>(b) indicate nothing wrong with the food/article/etc?</strong></p>
<p>Neither. You can use 不错 to praise the taste or the quality of the food. 没错 doesn't make sense because 'the food' is unable to make mistakes. It can be 'mistaken' in a sense of improperly cooked, gone bad or poisoned. In that case you want to say the food 有问题 (has problems) or 没问题 (no problem).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>这家饭馆的食物有问题。Something's wrong with the food from this restaurant.</p>
<p>这家饭馆的食物没问题。There's nothing wrong with the food from this restaurant.</p>
<p>这家饭馆的食物不错。This restaurant makes good food.</p>
<p>这家饭馆的食物没错。(Doesn't make sense) The food from this restaurant didn't act wrong.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>(c) approval or agreement with somebody's statement/idea?</strong></p>
<p>Both can be used.</p>
<p>没错 expresses concurrence/agreement (not praise) to ideas and yes/no factual questions.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(Idea) “我们应该先看说明书。”“没错。” 'We should read user's manual first.' 'Right.'</p>
<p>(Fact) “电影是不是9点开始？”“没错。” 'Is the movie starting at 9?' 'Yes.'</p>
</blockquote>
<p>没错 is seldom used for deeds. It's only used in very specific circumstances as an indifferent or perfunctory chime. Again this usage is uncommon and may sound strange depending on the situation.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(Deed) “我把作业都写完了。”“没错。” 'I have finished my homework.' '(Indifferently) I know.'</p>
</blockquote>
<p>不错 can be used to praise deeds as well as ideas.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“我把作业都写完了。”“不错！” 'I have finished my homework.' 'Great!'</p>
</blockquote>
<p>不错 can also be used to express concurrence as an inherited usage from ancient Chinese. There's a subtle defensive and provocative tone in it though, as if the question or statement before this response is unexpected or offensive.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“你一口气吃了十个冰淇淋？”“没错。” 'You ate ten ice creams at once?' 'Yes.'</p>
<p>“你一口气吃了十个冰淇淋？”“不错。” 'You ate ten ice creams at once?' 'Yes. (You have a problem with that?)'</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-08T04:31:10.707Z
In (a), `他文章写的没错。What is written in his article is true.` I think `没错` here emphasizes **right/correct** but not **true**. For example, when I say *the story is true*, I mean the story is based on some fact that really has happened; when I say *the story is right*, I likely mean what the story tells us, the logic or the philosophy, is right. There's difference between *right* and *true*.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-08T06:58:08.037Z
@Stan You're _right_ and what you said is very _true_. Will edit my answer:)
NS.X.
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2013-06-08T07:38:47.637Z
Yet I have one more question :) I can't imagine the scene `“我把作业都写完了。” “没错。”`. At least in standard Mandarin and Cantonese, I've never heard of such an *indifferent or perfunctory* response (the most common ones may be `嗯` or `好(的)` or just `(我)知道了`). :( Could you please cite some online resources for that? Thx ^_^
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-08T19:06:24.807Z
@Stan At a second thought I think you're right, it's not common and sound natural only in specific circumstances. I have updated the answer. For a concrete example, think of a 相声-like conversation: “我回家了”“是”“我一打开门”“没错”“我一看”“看见什么了？”…… Having used this type of conversation with my friends in Beijing from time to time, it may be my false assumption that it sounds natural to all Mandarin speakers.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-08T01:11:56.410Z
2015-06-23T18:30:41.303Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
NS.X.
<p>I have been having problems knowing when to use either 不错 or 没错. I think 不错 means 'great'; and 没错 means no mistake.</p>

<p>Which should be used to:  </p>

<p><strong>(a)</strong> praise somebody's work?<br>
<strong>(b)</strong> indicate nothing wrong with the food/article/etc?<br>
<strong>(c)</strong> approval or agreement with somebody's statement/idea?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-06T13:14:24.980Z
You'd better not abbreviate **somebody** to **SB** when your readers are Chinese, because currently **SB** (傻屄/傻逼/煞笔/傻比/any homophonic words) is a quite offensive word used by many Chinese netizens to say a person is a sucker/idiot/etc.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-06T15:49:49.030Z
@Stan I don't think it's a problem. Well-educated people won't use this kind of words too often.
Mike Manilone
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-06T23:21:15.527Z
@Stan Good point. I expanded it. Seriously, how difficult is it to write a few extra letters. I actually had no idea what SB meant (I've seen it written in *lowercase*, but never *uppercase*).
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-07T07:20:35.740Z
@MikeManilone: just an advice for avoiding misunderstanding ... in fact, this word is the first one running into my eyes when I open this page and making me feel confused for a few seconds :)
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-08T09:40:30.343Z
Thanks Stan for the warning. I read amorimluc's question and it helped me some but I was still unclear. NS.X.'s answer， while complete， only explained the difference between 不 and 没有 and Question Overflow's addressed the meaning of 错. However in what situations to use each was still unclear, which is why I asked this question.  NS.X.'s answer to this question is superb, ignoring the basic meanings of 不 and 没有， they clearly explain with examples when to use each.
tao
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-08T10:44:21.500Z
@tao If you think this question is fundamentally different, you should try to edit your question and say what was not clear in the previous question. Or how this one is different. If you do that, flag your own question so a moderator or high-rep user can reopen it.
Alenanno
<word-choice>
Differentiate 不错 and 没错 in these situations
# Differentiate 不错 and 没错 in these situations

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-06-06)

I have been having problems knowing when to use either 不错 or 没错. I think 不错 means 'great'; and 没错 means no mistake.

Which should be used to:

**(a)** praise somebody's work?  
**(b)** indicate nothing wrong with the food/article/etc?  
**(c)** approval or agreement with somebody's statement/idea?

**Tags:** word-choice
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You'd better not abbreviate **somebody** to **SB** when your readers are Chinese, because currently **SB** (傻屄/傻逼/煞笔/傻比/any homophonic words) is a quite offensive word used by many Chinese netizens to say a person is a sucker/idiot/etc.  
> **username_2**: @Stan I don't think it's a problem. Well-educated people won't use this kind of words too often.  
> **username_3**: @Stan Good point. I expanded it. Seriously, how difficult is it to write a few extra letters. I actually had no idea what SB meant (I've seen it written in *lowercase*, but never *uppercase*).  
> **username_1**: @MikeManilone: just an advice for avoiding misunderstanding ... in fact, this word is the first one running into my eyes when I open this page and making me feel confused for a few seconds :)  
> **username_0**: Thanks Stan for the warning. I read amorimluc's question and it helped me some but I was still unclear. NS.X.'s answer， while complete， only explained the difference between 不 and 没有 and Question Overflow's addressed the meaning of 错. However in what situations to use each was still unclear, which is why I asked this question.  NS.X.'s answer to this question is superb, ignoring the basic meanings of 不 and 没有， they clearly explain with examples when to use each.  
> **username_4**: @tao If you think this question is fundamentally different, you should try to edit your question and say what was not clear in the previous question. Or how this one is different. If you do that, flag your own question so a moderator or high-rep user can reopen it.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2013-06-08. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

You already got the idea. To answer the situational questions:

**(a) praise somebody's work?**

Use 不错. If you use 没错, it means the content of the work is right.

> 他文章写得不错。He writes good articles.
>
> 他文章写的没错。What is written in his article is right.

**(b) indicate nothing wrong with the food/article/etc?**

Neither. You can use 不错 to praise the taste or the quality of the food. 没错 doesn't make sense because 'the food' is unable to make mistakes. It can be 'mistaken' in a sense of improperly cooked, gone bad or poisoned. In that case you want to say the food 有问题 (has problems) or 没问题 (no problem).

> 这家饭馆的食物有问题。Something's wrong with the food from this restaurant.
>
> 这家饭馆的食物没问题。There's nothing wrong with the food from this restaurant.
>
> 这家饭馆的食物不错。This restaurant makes good food.
>
> 这家饭馆的食物没错。(Doesn't make sense) The food from this restaurant didn't act wrong.

**(c) approval or agreement with somebody's statement/idea?**

Both can be used.

没错 expresses concurrence/agreement (not praise) to ideas and yes/no factual questions.

> (Idea) “我们应该先看说明书。”“没错。” 'We should read user's manual first.' 'Right.'
>
> (Fact) “电影是不是9点开始？”“没错。” 'Is the movie starting at 9?' 'Yes.'

没错 is seldom used for deeds. It's only used in very specific circumstances as an indifferent or perfunctory chime. Again this usage is uncommon and may sound strange depending on the situation.

> (Deed) “我把作业都写完了。”“没错。” 'I have finished my homework.' '(Indifferently) I know.'

不错 can be used to praise deeds as well as ideas.

> “我把作业都写完了。”“不错！” 'I have finished my homework.' 'Great!'

不错 can also be used to express concurrence as an inherited usage from ancient Chinese. There's a subtle defensive and provocative tone in it though, as if the question or statement before this response is unexpected or offensive.

> “你一口气吃了十个冰淇淋？”“没错。” 'You ate ten ice creams at once?' 'Yes.'
>
> “你一口气吃了十个冰淇淋？”“不错。” 'You ate ten ice creams at once?' 'Yes. (You have a problem with that?)'

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: In (a), `他文章写的没错。What is written in his article is true.` I think `没错` here emphasizes **right/correct** but not **true**. For example, when I say *the story is true*, I mean the story is based on some fact that really has happened; when I say *the story is right*, I likely mean what the story tells us, the logic or the philosophy, is right. There's difference between *right* and *true*.  
> **username_6**: @Stan You're _right_ and what you said is very _true_. Will edit my answer:)  
> **username_1**: Yet I have one more question :) I can't imagine the scene `“我把作业都写完了。” “没错。”`. At least in standard Mandarin and Cantonese, I've never heard of such an *indifferent or perfunctory* response (the most common ones may be `嗯` or `好(的)` or just `(我)知道了`). :( Could you please cite some online resources for that? Thx ^_^  
> **username_6**: @Stan At a second thought I think you're right, it's not common and sound natural only in specific circumstances. I have updated the answer. For a concrete example, think of a 相声-like conversation: “我回家了”“是”“我一打开门”“没错”“我一看”“看见什么了？”…… Having used this type of conversation with my friends in Beijing from time to time, it may be my false assumption that it sounds natural to all Mandarin speakers.  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2013-06-06. Score: 1

（a）不错
（b）没错
（c）both

不错 = not so bad, quite good, emphasis on the expression of questioner.

没错 = nothing wrong, emphasis on the confirmatory meaning.


---

