| 指正 | zhǐ zhèng | to point out mistakes or weak points for correction / to comment / criticism |   |
| 痛改前非 | tòng gǎi qián fēi | completely correcting one's former misdeeds (idiom) / to repent past mistakes and turn over a new leaf / a reformed character | |
| 闭门思过 | bì mén sī guò | shut oneself up and ponder over one's mistakes | |
| 惩前毖后 | chéng qián bì hòu | lit. to punish those before to prevent those after (idiom) / to criticize former mistakes firmly to prevent them happening again | |
| 小惩大诫 | xiǎo chéng dà jiè | lit. to punish a little to prevent a lot (idiom) / to criticize former mistakes firmly to prevent large scale repetition | |
| 得饶人处且饶人 | dé ráo rén chù qiě ráo rén | where it is possible to let people off, one should spare them (idiom) / anyone can make mistakes, forgive them when possible | |
| 补偏救弊 | bǔ piān jiù bì | to remedy defects and correct errors (idiom) / to rectify past mistakes | |
| 不咎既往 | bù jiù jì wǎng | not censure sb for his past misdeeds / overlook sb's past mistakes / let bygones be bygones | |
| 一错再错 | yī cuò zài cuò | to repeat errors / to continue blundering / to make continuous mistakes | |
| 不求有功，但求无过 | bù qiú yǒu gōng , dàn qiú wú guò | lit. not aiming to achieve the best possible result, but rather trying to avoid making mistakes (idiom) / fig. to take a risk-averse approach | |
| 弥缝 | mí féng | to cover up mistakes or crimes / to stitch up / to fix | |
| 人谁无过 | rén shéi wú guò | Everyone makes mistakes (idiom) | |
| 尝试错误 | cháng shì cuò wù | to proceed by trial and error / to learn by making mistakes | |
| 吃一堑，长一智 | chī yī qiàn , zhǎng yī zhì | Fall into the moat and you'll be wiser next time (idiom) / One only learns from one's mistakes. | |
| 人有失手，马有失蹄 | rén yǒu shī shǒu , mǎ yǒu shī tí | lit. just as humans make mistakes, so can a horse stumble (idiom) / fig. everyone makes mistakes / even the best fall down sometimes | |
| 百花运动 | Bǎi huā Yùn dòng | Hundred Flowers Campaign (PRC, 1956-57), in which Mao called for the taboo on discussing mistakes of the CCP to be lifted | |
| 有则改之，无则加勉 | yǒu zé gǎi zhī , wú zé jiā miǎn | correct any mistakes you made, but maintain your good record if you did not make them (idiom) | |
| 长记性 | zhǎng jì xing | (coll.) to learn one's lesson / to have enough brains to learn from one's mistakes | |
| 知错能改 | zhī cuò néng gǎi | to recognize one's mistakes and be able to reform oneself (idiom) | |
