Contracts & agreements in Chinese 合同
hétong
Contract in Chinese is 合同 (hé tong).
Also searched for as: contract, agreement, sign a contract, terms and conditions, NDA.
Get it in writing: the language of contracts. 15 essential contracts & agreements words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The word for contract in Chinese is 合同 (hé tong), and in China a contract usually isn't complete until it's been both signed and stamped. The parties are referred to as 甲方 (jiǎ fāng) and 乙方 (yǐ fāng), Party A and Party B, and the company seal, 公章 (gōng zhāng), often matters as much as any signature. These terms come up in supply deals, leases and job offers alike.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 合同 | hé tong | contract |
| 签合同 | qiān hé tong | to sign a contract |
| 协议 | xié yì | agreement |
| 条款 | tiáo kuǎn | clause; terms |
| 甲方 | jiǎ fāng | Party A (usually the client) |
| 乙方 | yǐ fāng | Party B (usually the supplier) |
| 违约 | wéi yuē | to breach a contract |
| 违约金 | wéi yuē jīn | penalty for breach of contract |
| 盖章 | gài zhāng | to stamp with the company seal |
| 公章 | gōng zhāng | company seal; official stamp |
| 生效 | shēng xiào | to take effect |
| 有效期 | yǒu xiào qī | period of validity; term |
| 续签 | xù qiān | to renew (a contract) |
| 保密协议 | bǎo mì xié yì | non-disclosure agreement (NDA) |
| 法务 | fǎ wù | legal department; in-house lawyer |
Usage tips
- 甲方 (jiǎ fāng) is usually the paying client and 乙方 (yǐ fāng) the supplier, and office slang has borrowed the terms: 甲方又改需求了 (jiǎ fāng yòu gǎi xū qiú le) is a classic grumble about demanding clients.
- When a contract needs to be 盖章 (gài zhāng), stamped, check that it bears the company's official 公章 (gōng zhāng) or contract seal with the full registered name, not just a department stamp.
- 合同 and 协议 (xié yì) overlap, but 协议 is often used for narrower or preliminary agreements, such as a 保密协议 (bǎo mì xié yì), NDA, or a 框架协议 (kuàng jià xié yì), framework agreement.
Common mistakes
- Saying 签名合同 for 'sign the contract': the verb is simply 签 (qiān), so say 签合同 (qiān hé tong); signing your name is 签字 (qiān zì).
- Pronouncing 合同 as hé tóng with a full second tone; in standard Mandarin the second syllable is usually neutral, hé tong.
Mini dialogue
- A合同我已经发到您邮箱了，请您看一下。Hé tong wǒ yǐ jīng fā dào nín yóu xiāng le, qǐng nín kàn yī xià.I've sent the contract to your email, please have a look.
- B收到了。违约金那个条款我们需要改一下。Shōu dào le. Wéi yuē jīn nà ge tiáo kuǎn wǒ men xū yào gǎi yī xià.Got it. We need to change the clause about the breach penalty.
- A没问题，我先让法务看看。Méi wèn tí, wǒ xiān ràng fǎ wù kàn kan.No problem, I'll get legal to look at it first.
- B好的，改好以后我们就签合同。Hǎo de, gǎi hǎo yǐ hòu wǒ men jiù qiān hé tong.Great, once it's revised we'll sign.
- A别忘了盖公章，不然合同不生效。Bié wàng le gài gōng zhāng, bù rán hé tong bù shēng xiào.Don't forget the company seal, or the contract won't take effect.
Example sentences
- 合同我已经发到您邮箱了。I've sent the contract to your email.
- 我们下周签合同吧。Let's sign the contract next week.
- 双方已经达成协议了。Both sides have reached an agreement.
- 这个条款我们需要改一下。We need to change this clause.
- 甲方又提了新要求。The client has come up with new demands again.
- 乙方负责运输费用。Party B is responsible for shipping costs.
- 如果违约，要付违约金。If you breach the contract, you pay a penalty.
- 违约金是合同金额的百分之十。The penalty is ten percent of the contract value.
- 合同要盖章才有效。The contract isn't valid until it's stamped.
- 公章在财务那儿。The company seal is with the finance department.
- 合同从签字之日起生效。The contract takes effect from the date of signing.
- 这份协议的有效期是两年。This agreement is valid for two years.
- 明年我们想续签合同。We'd like to renew the contract next year.
- 先签一份保密协议吧。Let's sign an NDA first.
- 这份合同先让法务看一下。Let legal look over this contract first.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Contracts & agreements speaking island has 8 everyday questions about contracts & agreements to prepare your own answers to.