An eggcorn is:
In linguistics, an eggcorn is an idiosyncratic substitution of a word or phrase for a word or words that sound similar or identical in the speaker's dialect (sometimes called oronyms). The new phrase introduces a meaning that is different from the original but plausible in the same context, such as "old-timers' disease" for "Alzheimer's disease". An eggcorn can be described as an intra-lingual phono-semantic matching, a matching in which the intended word and substitute are from the same language.
Wikipedia also gives a bunch of English examples:
- ex-patriot instead of expatriate
- mating name instead of maiden name
- on the spurt of the moment instead of on the spur of the moment
- preying mantis instead of praying mantis
- for all intensive purposes instead of for all intents and purposes
What similar phenomenons happens in Chinese?