CATTI Level 1: English–Chinese written-translation foundations key terms

Expressions chosen and used by an issuing institution, checked in the particular document and project context rather than recalled as universal wording.

Language choices appropriate to the issuer, audience, genre and purpose, without changing the source proposition or strengthening its political claim.

The coordination or juxtaposition of clauses whose relations may need careful grammatical restructuring in translation without inventing a new logical connection.

The instructions defining the audience, purpose, use and constraints of a translation project, against which competing renderings should be assessed.

A context-sensitive way to convey a figurative expression’s relevant meaning and force without importing an unintended target-culture association.

Language expressing rights, duties, permissions, prohibitions or degrees of certainty, whose preservation can be crucial to the meaning of a clause.

The legal system identified as governing a transaction or document, which a translator must preserve without independently supplying missing legal conclusions.

An expression assigned a particular meaning within a document, requiring consistent interpretation and rendering within that specified scope.

The magnitude represented by a quantity expression, including differences between Chinese 万 or 亿 and English thousand, million or billion.

The period, population or reference value against which a reported change is calculated, which must not be invented during translation.

Comparison of a target text with its source to assess whether meaning, relevant details and the project requirements have been preserved.

Content introduced into a translation without adequate source or contextual support, even if it makes the target sentence sound fluent.

A collection of previously translated segments that can assist reuse but does not remove the need to check the present context.

The impact of an error within an explicitly defined assessment or project framework, rather than a universal score inferred from word length.

A documented record of the source concern, proposed correction, justification and unresolved question that supports transparent translation review.

A description of required or intended technical characteristics, whose exact conditions and level of specificity must be maintained in translation.

The full expression corresponding to an abbreviated form, selected according to actual domain context and the needs of the intended audience.

The reference quantity or condition used in a comparison, necessary to interpret a stated difference or percentage reduction accurately.

The degree of certainty or causal force communicated by wording, distinguished among possibility, association, observation and demonstrated causation.

The designated name of a particular entity or facility, which should not be substituted for a general description without supporting context.