Phrase
earnest money
定金；保证金
money given by a buyer to a seller to bind a contract
- 1.
money given by a buyer to a seller to bind a contract
买方为订立合同付给卖方的定金
买方为订立合同付给卖方的定金；定金；[经] 定金
In use
We need to provide earnest money to secure the house we want to buy.
The seller demanded earnest money before signing the agreement.
He paid earnest money to reserve the car until next week.
pay earnest money
The buyer must pay earnest money within three days.
买方必须在三天内支付定金。
earnest money + be + adjective
常用于描述定金的性质。
The earnest money is refundable if the deal falls through.
如果交易失败，定金是可以退还的。
put down earnest money
We put down earnest money on the house yesterday.
我们昨天为这栋房子付了定金。
as earnest money
表示以某物作为定金。
He gave the seller a check as earnest money.
他给卖家一张支票作为定金。
Common mistakes
I need to pay a down payment for the house.I need to pay earnest money for the house.
中文里“定金”和“首付”常被混用，但英文中'down payment'指购房首付（贷款外自付部分），而'earnest money'是购房定金，金额较小且显示诚意。学习者易受中文影响误用'down payment'表示定金。
I already paid the earnest.I already paid the earnest money.
'earnest'作为名词意为“诚意”或“认真”，但不可单独表示“定金”。’earnest money’是固定复合名词，必须包含'money'，学习者可能因简化而遗漏。
Connections
Confusing words
Word family
- earnest
- 认真的；诚挚的 · adj
- earnestly
- 认真地；诚挚地 · adv
- earnestness
- 认真；诚挚 · n
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.