国际商务函电

UNIT3

INQUIRIESANDREPLIESLeadin

Inquiriesaremadewhenabusinesspersonintendstopurchasecertaingoodsorobtaindesiredservices.Thebuyerusuallysendsaninquirytoinviteaquotationoranofferfromtheseller;thereforeinquiriesmeanpotentialbusinessforboththebuyerandtheseller.Basedontheinquiredcontents,inquiriescanbedividedintogeneralinquiriesandspecificinquiries.Thewriterofageneralinquiryasksforgeneralinformation,acatalogue,apricelist,orasamplebook,whilethatofaspecificinquiryfocusesonthedetailedinformationaboutthespecifictargetgoodsorservices.

Asatisfactoryinquirywillincludethefollowing:Sourceofinformation,askingforacatalogueandapricelist;Introductionofthesellerorthebuyer’sgeneralinformationandbusinessscope,statementoftheproductsofinterest;Quantitydiscountsandtermsofpayments(suchasFOB,CIFetc.);Termsofdelivery;Hopeforreply

Areplytoaninquiryandespeciallytoafirstinquiryshouldbehandledwithspecialcaretocreategoodwill.Whenthegoodsinquiredareoutofstock,thesellershouldinformthebuyerofthereasonandwhenthegoodswillbeavailable.Ifspecialrequestcannotbemet,thesellerneedstoanswertheinquirywithcareandavoidsmakingdirectrefusalthatmayoffendtheotherparty.Besides,thesellermustmakesurethatallthequestionsaskedinaninquiryhavebeenansweredinthereply,andiftherearemanyquestionstoreplyto,bulletsornumbersarerecommendedtoenumeratethem.Asatisfactoryreplywillincludethefollowing:Pleasetoreceivetheinquiry;Mentionthatproductscatalogueandpricelistaskedforintheinquiryareenclosedintheletter;Emphasizethecompetitivequotationandtellclearlyavailablediscount;Declaretermsofpaymentanddeliveryserviceavailable;Hopeforearlyreply.SpecimenLetters样函

11.inquiry询盘，又作enquiry，指交易一方准备购买或出售某种商品，向对方询问买卖该商品的有关交易条件，又称询价。WethankyouforyourinquiryofAug.23rdforgroundnutkernels.TheypromisedtotransfertheirfutureenquiriestoChinacorporations.Wecannotmakeofferswithoutspecificenquiries.

2.principalproducerandexporter主要的/最大的生产商和出口商Theyaretheprincipalproducerandexporterofthisclassofgoodshere.

3.bedesirousof渴望，想要

desire期望，渴望，要求，请求Wearedesirousofenteringintodirectbusinessrelationswithyou.Whatdoyoudesiretobuyatpresent?Itisdesiredthatthecataloguesshallbeairmailedtouswithinoneweek.

4.coincide（意见等）一致；（时间上）相同Wearegladthatourideascoincide.Yourinquirycoincidedwithouroffer.

5.regarding关于，与withregardto,inregardto同义Wehavealreadywrittentoyouregardingthismatter.Regardingthebalance,wewilladviseyouofthepositioninafewdays.6.quote报价，与介词for连用:quotesb.apriceforsth.或

quotesb.forsth.Pleasequoteusyourlowestpriceforwalnuts.Pleasequoteusforwalnuts.7.floorprice最低价，和rockbottomprice同义，其反义词为ceilingprice8.inclusiveofour5%commission包括我方5%佣金Thisofferisinclusiveofyour2%commission.=Thisofferincludesyour2%vided如果，假若，这里用作连词，词义相当于if,但强调“以…为条件”。如：Provided(that)youcanguaranteeregularsupplies,wemayplacebulkorderswithyou.WeacceptyourorderprovidedshipmentismadeinMarch.10.

placealargeorderwithyou向你方大量订货

名词order常与动词make,send,place等连用，当表示订购某项货物时后接介词forIfyourpriceisinline,wewillsendyouanorderfor5,000sets.Ifyouallowus10%discount,wewillorder10,000dozen.SpecimenLetters样函

21.display展览；展开；陈列afashiondisplay时装展览theexhibitiondisplay陈列的展览品departmentstoresdisplaytheirgoodsinthewindow商店在橱窗陈列商品2.theSpringCommoditiesFair春季商品交易会theChineseExportCommodityFair中国出口商品交易会minifair小型交易会3.beinurgentneedofsth.急需

beinneedofsth.beinbadlyneedofsth.beindireneedofsth.beingreatneedofsth.

4.replacementn.替换物；更换Werequestyourreplacementofthegoodsasitisstipulatedinthecontract.5.Karachi卡拉奇港，是巴基斯坦的最大及最繁忙的港口,处理大约60%的全国货运。6.inadvance尽早；预先；事先；提前Pleasekeepusfullyinformedasfarinadvanceaspossible.Wethankyouforyourclosecooperationinadvance.SpecimenLetters样函

31.quotation报价，与动词make,send,give,cable,fax连用，后接介词for,有时也用ofquotationsheet报价单PleasequoteusyourmostfavorablepriceCIFSeattlefortheabovegoods,includingourcommission5%.Wearegoingtogiveyouaquotationwhichisbasedupontheprevailinginternationalmarketprice.2.discount折扣,打折Thehighestdiscountwecanallow(give,make,grant)onthisarticleis10%.TherateofdiscountinLondonisnow5%.Ifyoucandiscountyourpriceby10%,wearereadytotake300bales.BillscanbeeasilydiscountedinLondon.3.term时间；条款；条件ItisnotourpracticetoaccepttermL/C.TherightsofagentareclearlydefinedinTermNo.7oftheAgreement.Wecannotdobusinessonyourterms.4.catalogue目录

classifiedcatalogue分类目录

descriptivecatalogue带有说明的目录

illustratedcatalogue有插图的目录

catalogueofindustrialproducts工业产品目录5.appreciate感谢，感激Wehighlyappreciateyourkindcooperation.Weshallappreciateyoursendingusasamplebooksoon.SpecimenLetters样函

41.request请求，要求asrequested按照要求onrequest一经要求就attherequestof：atone'srequest应某人要求Asrequested,wesendyouourlatestpricelist.Samplebooksandcatalogueswillbesentonrequest.Atyourrequestwemakeyouthefollowingquotation.

2.examine检验，检查；审查，核查。examine表示调查已确定某事的真正性质、特性、状况或测定某事的质量、效力、真实性或功能等。Thegoodswerecarefullyexaminedbeforeshipment.Theissuingbankshallhaveareasonabletimetoexaminethedocuments.

3.confident相信的，有信心的Weareconfidentthatwecanpushthesalesofyourproductsinourmarket.Weareconfidentofbeingabletoshipthegoodstoyoubytheendofthismonth.4.stockn.库存；存货

astockof一批现货

fromstock动用库存

instock库存中

outofstock无货；缺货Thereisnomorestockonhand.Wecansupplyfromstock.Thetypeyourequiredisoutofstock,butthesimilartypeisinstock.Ourstockwillbeexhaustedsoon.5.regular经常的Ifyourpricesarecompetitive,ourcompanywillbepleasedtoplaceregularorderswithyou.Asyourpurchasesareregularandnumerous,itwouldbeadvisableforyouopenarevolvingL/Cinourfavor.SpecimenLetters样函

51.beinthemarketfor想要购买（如果去掉介词for，表示要买或要卖）Wenotefromyourletterof16ththismonththatyouareinthemarketfortextiles.Pleaseletusknowwhenyouareinthemarket.

2.rock-bottomprice最低价，类似的表达方式还有：minimumprice，lowestprice，bedrockprice，floorprice等。Aswehavequotedyouourrock-bottomprice，wecannotdobetter.3.thesame或same在书信中常用作代词来指前面所说的人或事。这是商业信函中的一种陈旧的用法。Ifyourequirefurtherinformation，wecansupplythesame.4.foryourinformation顺告你方Foryourinformation,thetendencyoftheleathermarketisstilluncertain.

5.survey检查，调查，鉴定publicsurveyor公证检验行，是指站在独立公正（

independentandimpartial）立场上的社会检验机构，接受委托对商品的品质、规格、数量进行检验并出具检验证书。

customssurveyor

海关检验人员

marinesurveyor

海事鉴定人

surveyreport

鉴定报告

surveyor’sreport

鉴定行报告6.shortage不足；不足之量Pleasedoyourutmosttoshipshortagebythenextavailablesteamer.

7.acceptable可接受，合意的Yourofferisnotacceptable.Thequalityisacceptable,butthetimeofshipmentisnot.Julyshipmentisacceptabletoourcustomer.

SpecimenLetters样函

61.attention愿意为“注意，处理”，译文为了简洁此词未直接译出。YourletteraddressedtoourHeadOfficehasbeenpassedontousforattentionandreply.

2.specialize专门经营（后跟介词in）Beingspecializedintheexportoflightindustrialproducts，weexpressourdesiretotradewithyouinthisline.Theyspecializeindyestuffs.

3.HeroBrandPens在商业信函中，某某牌号的产品通常用大写。4.meetwithwarm（favorable）reception受到欢迎，在商业信函中引申为畅销。还可以说

wellreceived。Wearegladthatourhandicraftshavemetwithawarmreceptionatyourend.Wearepleasedtonotefromyourletterthatourproductsarewellreceivedinyourmarket.

5.ArtNo.是ArticleNumber的缩写，表示“货号”。6.Specifications规格，指产品规格，常用复数。7.itisunderstood不言而喻，无庸讳言。类似的表达方式还有：need-lesstosay，itgoeswithoutsaying等。Itisunder