Finding the error: saying the same thing twice
Some words already carry a meaning that another word in the sentence repeats: 大约 and 左右 both mean “about”, 超过 and 以上 both mean “more than”, 原因 already means “because”. Keep one of each pair.
Structure
大约／大概 + 数量（不再加“左右”） ｜ 超过 + 数量（不再加“以上”） ｜ ……的原因是 + 小句（不再加“因为”“造成的”）
Explanation
Chinese words in this text can be activated to show a dictionary gloss.
Redundancy is the error type that looks least like an error. Every word is correct and the meaning is clear; there is simply one word too many, and written Chinese treats that as a fault.
The most frequent case is approximation. or before a number and after it say the same thing, so use one: or , never . The same applies to … ( or ) and to ….
The second case is cause. already names the reason, so is complete. Adding after , or at the end, repeats it: … and … are both marked as errors. English speakers are especially exposed here, since “the reason is because” is common in casual English.
Not every pair is redundant: … is correct, because does a different job. When reading a candidate sentence, look for two words that could each be deleted without changing the meaning; if you find them, one of them is the error.
Correct
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
从这里到机场大约需要四十分钟。從這裡到機場大約需要四十分鐘。
Cóng (second tone, rising) zhèlǐ (fourth tone, falling) dào (fourth tone, falling) jīchǎng (first tone, high and level) dàyuē (fourth tone, falling) xūyào (first tone, high and level) sìshí (fourth tone, falling) fēnzhōng. (first tone, high and level)···
It takes about forty minutes from here to the airport.
参加这次比赛的有三百人左右。參加這次比賽的有三百人左右。
Cānjiā (first tone, high and level) zhè (fourth tone, falling) cì (fourth tone, falling) bǐsài (third tone, dipping) de (neutral tone) yǒu (third tone, dipping) sānbǎi (first tone, high and level) rén (second tone, rising) zuǒyòu. (third tone, dipping)···
Around three hundred people are taking part in this competition.
他迟到的原因是路上堵车。他遲到的原因是路上堵車。
Tā (first tone, high and level) chídào (second tone, rising) de (neutral tone) yuányīn (second tone, rising) shì (fourth tone, falling) lùshang (fourth tone, falling) dǔchē. (third tone, dipping)···
The reason he was late was the traffic on the way.
Incorrect — Common mistakes
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 我们大约等了半个小时左右。
Correct
Correct sentence: 我们大约等了半个小时。
Why: 大约 and 左右 both mean “about”. Keep one: 大约等了半个小时 or 等了半个小时左右.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 他迟到的原因是因为路上堵车。
Correct
Correct sentence: 他迟到的原因是路上堵车。
Why: 原因 already names the reason; 因为 after 是 says it again. Either 原因是…, or 他迟到是因为….
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 报名的人超过了五百人以上。
Correct
Correct sentence: 报名的人超过了五百人。
Why: 超过 already means “more than”, so 以上 is redundant. Use 超过五百人 or 有五百人以上.
Compared with
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
Both errors leave every word correct on its own. A redundancy error has a word too many — delete it and the sentence is fixed. A collocation error has the wrong word — deleting does not help; it has to be replaced. Asking “could I simply remove something?” tells the two apart.
Finding the error: verbs that belong with their nouns →Mini quiz
Question 1 / 3Total score: 0
Which sentence has no error?