COMMON ERRORS IN TRANSLATING VIETNAMESE IDIOMS WITH SINO-VIETNAMESE ELEMENTS INTO CHINESE AMONG STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF CHINESE, UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, HUE UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Translation serves as an essential bridge in linguistic and cultural exchange. Translating idioms requires learners not only to master linguistic structures but also to understand the cultural values embedded within idiomatic expressions. Practical experience in teaching Vietnamese-Chinese translation shows that students often encounter considerable difficulties when translating Vietnamese idioms containing Sino-Vietnamese elements into Chinese. This study surveys 200 fourth-year students, 100 majoring in Translation and 100 majoring in Interpreting at the Faculty of Chinese, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University, with the aim of identifying common types of errors, analyzing their causes, and proposing remedial solutions. The findings reveal that the overall accuracy rate remains relatively low, particularly for idioms that do not have exact equivalents or lack corresponding expressions in Chinese. Based on these results, the study offers several recommendations to enhance teaching effectiveness and improve students’ translation competence.