This article aims to provide a hierarchical list of the characteristics which a translation should contain in order to reach a certain qualitative standard. Questions such as the following are dealt with: Are there "cardinal translation errors"? Can/should source texts contain flaws and if yes, should translators be able to recognize and remove them? Should the utility of the target text be the only criterion for the client or should also the source text be taken into account? Are errors that are easy to correct less important than those that require more effort and time to set right?