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Common Translation Issues Taxonomy
From 译文常见问题与案例示范 (Common Issues in Translation, 2026-03-30). Categorized by accuracy and readability.
Accuracy Issues
Standard: convey meaning at the content level, not word-by-word correspondence. "Translation is not simply word conversion." "You must understand what thought it is actually trying to express."
1. Omission (漏翻)
Content present in source but absent from target.
Example:
随着黑白牌的运用，象征这部分已能为大家提供系统的学习和训练资料。
With the help of the Black-and-White Cards, this approach now offers a structured system of study.
Missing: 学习和训练 (learning and training) — "study" only covers half. Also: 象征这部分 (symbolizing this aspect) is dropped.
2. Mistranslation (错翻)
a. Over-free translation, weakening the original
"道德"一词，人们耳熟能详。即使在道德日渐边缘化的今天，人们依然会用"这人 很有道德""这么做太缺德了"来评价周遭人事。
"Morality" is a familiar term, and even in today's world, where it has become increasingly marginalized, expressions like "immorality" are still commonly used to describe certain behaviors and individuals.
Issue: The source gives two concrete colloquial expressions ("这人很有道德" / "这么做太缺德了") — the target collapses them into a single abstract "expressions like 'immorality'." The vividness and specificity are lost.
b. Over-literal translation, harming comprehension
作为素菜馆，应该尽量提供绿色食品。
A vegetarian restaurant should strive to offer green food.
Issue: 绿色食品 = "safe and healthy food" (Chinese idiom), not "green food" (color of food in English). →
safe and healthy options
c. Misunderstanding the source
政府现在倡导文化自信，习主席提出的"讲仁爱，重民本，守诚信，崇正义，尚和合，求大同"。
President Xi Jinping has called for a confident embrace of Chinese culture, highlighting virtues such as...
Issue: Two different subjects: the government advocates cultural confidence; Xi proposed the six virtues. The target merges both into Xi alone.
d. Wrong word choice causing misunderstanding
提供一些通俗易懂的法宝
with easy Buddhist materials
Issue: 通俗易懂 means "accessible to a general audience," not "easy/simple." The Dharma can be accessible but is never "simple." →
accessible
3. Overtranslation (多翻)
Adding parentheticals or expansions not in the source.
出家人不仅要对三宝、师长、道友建立没有染污的情感
Monastics should cultivate pure and untainted emotions not only toward the Three Jewels (the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha), their teachers (The Head Monk and Abbot), and fellow practitioners...
Issue: Parenthetical expansions like "(the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha)" and "(The Head Monk and Abbot)" are not in the source and should be removed.
4. Terminology Errors
- 身心 →
body and heart mind→ should bebody and mind - 甘露别院 →
Ganlu Bieyuan The Amrita Retreat Center→ official:Amrita Retreat Center - "六字" →
six characters→ should besix words
5. Detail-Level Issues
- Tone appropriateness
- Citation source authority
- CN→EN conversion rules: numerals, units, date formats
- Proper noun handling: transliteration vs. translation
Readability Issues
Standard: fluent sentences, graceful expression, matching target reader habits. "Conform to what foreign readers find readable." "Concise, clear, accurate, not draggy, meaning clear."
1. Redundancy & Wordiness
a. Long / nested sentences
Sentences with too many clauses that can't be read in one breath. Split them.
b. Passive voice overuse
如果对肉食消费得少，乃至完全不消费，那么从业者自然随之减少，很多动物就可以摆脱被屠宰、割截的厄运。
If meat consumption were reduced, or even eliminated entirely, then the number of businesses involved would naturally be lessened. This way, many animals could be spared from the adversity of being slaughtered and butchered.
Issue: Three passives in two sentences. Active rewrite is more concise: If people consume less meat — or none at all — fewer will work in the industry, and many animals will be spared the fate of slaughter and dismemberment.
c. Nominalization (动词名词化)
我们前期倡导的正念禅修，比较重视培养觉知。
In the early stages of mindfulness practice, we placed greater emphasis on cultivating awareness.
Issue: "placed greater emphasis on" is nominalized. →
we emphasized
2. Poor Structure (结构不当)
Top-heavy sentences — the main clause arrives too late.
没有如法的生活，不能严格要求自己，在今天这个红尘滚滚的时代，我们简直是没希望的。
Weathering today's deluge of worldly temptation, without a Dharma-aligned lifestyle and strict self-discipline, we have no hope.
Issue: The condition clauses pile up before the main point. Restructure: Without a Dharma-aligned lifestyle and strict self-discipline, we have no hope of weathering today's deluge of worldly temptations.
3. Wrong Word Choice (用词不当)
当一个人开始关心生命的大问题时，对小问题自然云淡风轻。
when we begin to contemplate the profound questions of existence, the banal iterations of daily life lose their significance.
Issue: "banal iterations" is obscure. Simplify.
4. Weak Flow & Transitions (流畅性 & 连接词)
修行的核心就是止恶行善。为什么某种行为能成为生命的主导？就是因为不断重复。
The essence of cultivation lies in ceasing unwholesome actions and promoting wholesome ones. But why do certain behaviors dominate our lives? Because of constant repetition.
Issue: Adding transition words improves flow. The "But" here creates a false contrast — the second sentence is explanation, not counterpoint.
Detection Checklist
When reviewing, run through:
- Any missing content? (compare paragraph-by-paragraph)
- Any added content? (parentheticals, expansions not in source)
- Any over-literal renderings that don't work in English? (idioms, set phrases)
- Any over-free renderings that lose specificity? (concrete examples → abstract)
- Subject confusion? (two actors merged into one)
- Buddhist terminology checked against terms DB?
- Sentences too long to read in one breath? (split at natural breaks)
- Passive voice clustering? (3+ in a paragraph)
- Nominalized verbs? ("placed emphasis on" → "emphasized")
- Top-heavy sentence structure? (main clause buried after long preamble)
- Obscure word choices? (would a general reader understand?)
- Missing or misleading transition words?