The word 误会 is formed by combining two characters whose individual meanings conceptually create the new idea. The first character, 误, means "mistake" or "error". The second, 会, carries the sense of "to meet", "to encounter", or "to understand". When placed together, they visually and notionally depict the idea of a "mistaken encounter", not a physical meeting, but a meeting of information or understanding in an incorrect way. It is as if one's comprehension erroneously encounters or connects with the wrong meaning, perfectly encapsulating the concept of a "misunderstanding".