languagetool-org/languagetool · error · RuntimeException

'triggers_error' is not supported for false friend XML

Error message

'triggers_error' is not supported for false friend XML

What it means

The false-friend XML schema only supports example types 'correct' and 'incorrect'. When the parser encounters an <example type="triggers_error"> element — a construct valid in grammar-rule XML but not in false-friend XML — it throws this RuntimeException.

Source

Thrown at languagetool-core/src/main/java/org/languagetool/rules/patterns/FalseFriendRuleHandler.java:120

      if (Languages.isLanguageSupported(languageStr)) {
        Language tmpLang = Languages.getLanguageForShortCode(languageStr);
        currentTranslationLanguage = tmpLang;
        if (inTestMode && currentTranslationLanguage == language) {
          throw new RuntimeException("Translation language (" + currentTranslationLanguage + ") must not be the same as pattern language (" + language + ") for rule " + id);
        }
        if (tmpLang.equalsConsiderVariantsIfSpecified(motherTongue)) {
          translationLanguage = tmpLang;
        }
      }
    } else if (qName.equals(EXAMPLE)) {
      correctExample = new StringBuilder();
      incorrectExample = new StringBuilder();
      if (attrs.getValue(TYPE).equals("incorrect")) {
        inIncorrectExample = true;
      } else if (attrs.getValue(TYPE).equals("correct")) {
        inCorrectExample = true;
      } else if (attrs.getValue(TYPE).equals("triggers_error")) {
        throw new RuntimeException("'triggers_error' is not supported for false friend XML");
      }
    } else if (qName.equals(MESSAGE)) {
      inMessage = true;
      message = new StringBuilder();
    } else if (qName.equals(RULEGROUP)) {
      ruleGroupId = attrs.getValue("id");
      inRuleGroup = true;
      defaultOff = "off".equals(attrs.getValue(DEFAULT));
    }
  }

  @Override
  public void endElement(String namespaceURI, String sName,
      String qName) throws SAXException {
    switch (qName) {
      case RULE:
        if (language.equalsConsiderVariantsIfSpecified(textLanguage) && translationLanguage != null
                && translationLanguage.equalsConsiderVariantsIfSpecified(motherTongue) && language != motherTongue

View on GitHub (pinned to 2e990059ce)

Solutions

1. Remove the type="triggers_error" attribute from the example element in the false-friend XML
2. Use only type="correct" or type="incorrect" in false-friend XML files
3. Validate the file against the false-friend XML schema (false-friends rules use a different DTD/schema than pattern rules)

Example fix

// before
<example type="triggers_error">He gave me a tip.</example>
// after
<example type="incorrect">He gave me a tip.</example>

if (doc.getElementsByAttributeValue("type", "triggers_error").size() > 0) {
  throw new IllegalArgumentException("triggers_error not allowed in false-friend XML");
}

try {
  rules = loader.getRules(file, language, motherTongue);
} catch (RuntimeException e) {
  if (e.getMessage().contains("triggers_error")) {
    log.error("Remove triggers_error examples from {}", file);
    return Collections.emptyList();
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: A <translation>/<example> element with type="triggers_error" inside a false-friend XML file processed by FalseFriendRuleHandler.startElement.

Common situations: Copy-pasting example markup from regular grammar rule XML into false-friends.xml, or writing false-friend rules using the wrong schema reference/autocomplete template.

Related errors

• Translation language (
• Could not load false friend rules from
• Set 'no', 'regexp' and 'postag_regexp' for filter PartialPos
• Wrong position in WhitespaceCheckFilter: " + pos + ", must b
• Missing key 'date'

AI-assisted analysis of languagetool-org/languagetool@2e990059ce (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a8eef31f386eba7f. Report an issue: GitHub.