languagetool-org/languagetool · error · IllegalArgumentException

Dist to big " + maxEditDistance

Error message

Dist to big " + maxEditDistance

What it means

Parameter guard at the start of SymSpell.lookupCompound: the per-call maxEditDistance exceeds the edit distance the dictionary was compiled with (maxDictionaryEditDistance), so compound-aware lookups at that distance are impossible with the current index.

Source

Thrown at languagetool-core/src/main/java/org/languagetool/rules/spelling/symspell/implementation/SymSpell.java:508

          if (consideredDeletes.add(delete)) {
            candidates.add(delete);
          }
        }
      }
    }

    //sort by ascending edit distance, then by descending word frequency
    if (suggestions.size() > 1) {
      Collections.sort(suggestions);
    }
    return suggestions;
  }

  public List<SuggestItem> lookupCompound(String input, int maxEditDistance) {
    //parse input String into single terms
    if (maxEditDistance > maxDictionaryEditDistance) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("Dist to big " + maxEditDistance);
    }
    String[] termList1 = parseWords(input);

    List<SuggestItem> suggestions; //suggestions for a single term
    List<SuggestItem> suggestionParts = new ArrayList<>(); // 1 line with separate parts
    List<SuggestItem> suggestionsCombi;
    EditDistance editDistance;

    //translate every term to its best suggestion, otherwise it remains unchanged
    boolean lastCombi = false;
    for (int i = 0; i < termList1.length; i++) {      // For each term do loop
      suggestions = lookup(termList1[i], Verbosity.Top, maxEditDistance); // Get the normal suggestions,
//            suggestions.forEach(it -> System.out.println("Suggestions: " + it.term));
      //combi check, always before split. i > 0 because we can't split on zero obviously.
      if ((i > 0) && !lastCombi) {
        suggestionsCombi = lookup(termList1[i - 1] + termList1[i], Verbosity.Top, maxEditDistance);

        if (!suggestionsCombi.isEmpty()) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 2e990059ce)

Solutions

1. Pass a maxEditDistance no greater than the dictionary's maxDictionaryEditDistance
2. Re-create the SymSpell instance with a higher dictionary edit distance before calling lookupCompound

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at languagetool-core/src/main/java/org/languagetool/rules/spelling/symspell/implementation/SymSpell.java:508 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of languagetool-org/languagetool@2e990059ce (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d369ec726f715ae7. Report an issue: GitHub.