Use of strategies should be the freedom for translators to deal with various difficulties in transfer operations. As one of the strategies, annotation, remains an issue in literary translation. Specifically, whether a translator is allowed to use notes or not, and how many notes can be used, so far, have not been fully discussed in Translation Studies. Therefore, based on the Chinese translation of a few classics, mainly Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and The Personal History of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, this article has first sought the reasons for use of notes. Secondly, it divides notes into several categories and discusses the proper number for each of them.

Keywords:  note, literary translation, reason, limit.