Official definition · 官方定义
“Bonds are fixed-income securities that are issued by corporations and governments to raise capital.”[1]
— Corporate Finance Institute, CFI Resource Library · corporatefinanceinstitute.com ↗ · accessed 2026-10-25
A bond is a loan to a government or a company. The buyer receives interest, called a coupon, usually twice a year, and gets the principal back on a set maturity date.
债券是把钱借给政府或公司的凭证。买方按期收到利息（票息，通常半年一次），并在约定的到期日收回本金。
Bonds are where the cost of money becomes visible. A company's bond yield tells you what investors demand to lend to it, which is why a downgrade raises its funding cost immediately. Government bonds do a second job: they set the risk-free rate that every other asset is priced against, and they are the collateral that makes the repo market work.
债券是「资金价格」变得可见的地方。一家公司的债券收益率，就是投资者要求的借款回报；一旦评级下调，融资成本立刻上升。
国债还承担第二个功能：它是所有资产定价所参照的无风险利率，也是回购市场运转所需的抵押品。
A bond is safe
Only the coupon is fixed. The price moves, and default risk is real for corporate bonds.
Higher yield means better
It usually means higher risk or a longer maturity.
Bond price equals face value
Only at issue and at maturity. In between it trades at a discount or premium.
· issue a bond
· the bond matures in 2032
· coupon of 4.5%
· spread over Treasuries
· a bond sell-off
issue a bond 发债；the bond matures in 2032 2032 年到期；coupon of 4.5% 票息 4.5%；spread over Treasuries 对国债的利差；a bond sell-off 债市抛售。
· coupon vs yield
· bond vs loan (tradable vs bilateral)
coupon 是票面利息，yield 是按买入价算出的回报；bond 可以交易，loan 是双方之间的借贷。
The company sold $2bn of 10-year bonds at a yield of X%, Y basis points over Treasuries.
发债句：公司发行 20 亿美元十年期债券，收益率 X%，较国债高 Y 个基点——spread 是信用风险的价码。