A translation without added meaning keeps every content word and every small word that marks time, degree or intention. The test is to map each part of your answer to a clause of the original and find nothing left over.
This lesson is part of classical Chinese comprehension. For a related audit of invented detail, see translating the meaning of an original sentence without inventing detail.
Which small words change the meaning?
Four small words carry time or degree. If you drop them, the events shift.
| Word | Meaning | Example effect |
|---|---|---|
| 已 | already | The action is complete before now |
| 未 | not yet | It has not happened, but may |
| 犹 | still | The situation continues |
| 将 | about to | The action has not started |
Compare 客至 (the guest arrives) with 客未至 (the guest has not yet arrived). Dropping 未 reverses the whole sentence.
Worked example
Passage: 日已暮，客未至，主人犹坐门外，将闭户而复止。
Step 1, split into clauses: (1) 日已暮, (2) 客未至, (3) 主人犹坐门外, (4) 将闭户, (5) 而复止.
Step 2, translate each clause and keep the small words.
- 天色已晚 (已: already late)
- 客人还没有到 (未: not yet)
- 主人仍然坐在门外 (犹: still)
- 正要关门 (将: about to)
- 却又停住了 (而复: but again)
Step 3, join and read as modern Chinese: 天色已经晚了，客人还没有到，主人仍然坐在门外，正要关门，却又停住了。
A looser version, marked up
Looser: 天黑了，客人不来，主人坐在门外等，关了门又打开。
| Part | Problem |
|---|---|
| 天黑了 | drops 已, losing the sense of “already late” |
| 客人不来 | changes 未 (not yet) to a refusal |
| 坐在门外等 | drops 犹 and adds “等” (waiting), which is a guess |
| 关了门又打开 | changes 将 (about to) into a completed action, and invents opening the door |
The looser version keeps the mood but alters four facts. A marker comparing it with the original would fail each line.
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is to treat small words as decoration. A student reads 客未至, writes 客不来, and the sentence still seems natural, so the change goes unnoticed.
The fix is a checklist pass after translating. Underline every 已, 未, 犹, 将, 欲, 不 and 勿 in the original, and confirm each has a partner in your answer.
Check yourself
Translate: 雨已止，行者犹立于亭，将行而不果。
Answer
雨已经停了，行人仍然站在亭子里，正要出发，却没有成行。
已 gives “already stopped”, 犹 gives “still standing”, 将 gives “about to set out”, and 不果 means “did not come about” (he did not actually set off).
Checkpoint: if you wrote “行者已经出发”, you turned 将 (about to) into a completed action.
What to study next
Once your translation is exact, you can explain why people act. Go to using context to explain a character’s action, then use the classical Chinese practice set. Note each dropped small word in your mistake log.
If you want a teacher to compare your translation with the original clause by clause, see online one-to-one Chinese tuition.