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What is the difference between “error” & “mistake”?

What is the difference between “error” & “mistake”?

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Question added by ahmed abdallah , Language Instructor , King Saud University
Date Posted: 2016/11/24
Deleted user
by Deleted user

A mistake is something that a person does willingly. For example, it would be a mistake to cross the street without looking both ways. However, the word error is usually used when there is a fault in something that is not controlled by the person. For example, you might find an error in a website, or you may receive an error message from a website which indicates that the error is most likely caused by the website itself, and not by the person or user. 

مها شرف
by مها شرف , معلمة لغة عربية , وزارة التربية السورية

 I agree with Yazan Al Shafai's answer. Thanks for the invitation

Ali Gaber
by Ali Gaber , Procurement Officer , Noor Advance Contracting Company

There is overlap in the meaning. But while "error" simply means that something came out wrong, "mistake" implies that someone is to blame for it. As Dictionary.com defines it, a mistake is "an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc."

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