以上單詞均有“轉(zhuǎn)讓”的含義。transfer為通用術(shù)語，可泛指用一切方式（甚至包括遺贈）轉(zhuǎn)讓各種物品，包括財(cái)產(chǎn)及其所有的權(quán)益、票據(jù)或單據(jù)等[1]。assignment多為民法或合同法上的債權(quán)“讓與”，且常指轉(zhuǎn)讓無形財(cái)產(chǎn)的權(quán)利，如：assignment of a contract, assignment of account, assignment of dower, assignment of income, assignment of lease, assignment of wages 等[2]。conveyance多指不動產(chǎn)，如土地物權(quán)（title)等的轉(zhuǎn)讓，其也包括土地其他權(quán)利的轉(zhuǎn)讓或租賃（lease)、按揭（mortgage)或抵押（encumbrance)，但不包括遺贈[3]; 與該單詞相關(guān)的詞conveyancer也由此指專門從事不動產(chǎn)轉(zhuǎn)讓業(yè)務(wù)之律師（參見lawyer)。negotiation常指票據(jù)法上的權(quán)利轉(zhuǎn)讓，既票據(jù)之“流通”，最大特點(diǎn)是受讓人可不受前手產(chǎn)權(quán)瑕疵的影響[4]。

[1]“ An act of the parties, or of the law，by which the title to property is conveyed from one person to another. The sale and every other method，direct or indirect, of disposing or parting with property or with an interest therein, or with the possession thereof, or of fixing a lien upon property or upon an interest therein, absolutely or conditionally, voluntarily or involuntarily , by or without judicial proceedings, as a conveyance, sale, payment, pledge, mortgage, lien，encumbrance，gift, security or otherwise. The word is one of general meaning and may include the act of giving property by will . . . Transfer is the all-encompassing term used by the Uniform Commercial Code to describe the act which passes an interest in an instrument to another. ”Cf. The Publisher's Editorial Staff, Black's Law Dictionary, abridged 6th edition, at p. 1041，West Publishing Co. (1991 ).