Recognizing translatability instead of untranslatability is of significance, since a wide-spread recognition of untranslatability may daunt the efforts of translators. The paper approaches the question of untranslatability thorough categorizing untranslatability into different groups and then examining untranslatability in each group by analyzing some typical examples from David Hawkes’ translation of Hong Lou Meng. Through the analysis of how David Hawkes translated the untranslatables, the paper argues that real untranslatability is rare, while translatability rules.