How to format an English contract in Chinese and English, so that the terms are aligned and not messed up

Key points of this article

The comparison typesetting should be aligned by clause. First, make sure that the original text numbers are continuous and the structure is clear before starting translation.
The left-right comparison layout allows each English item to be immediately adjacent to the corresponding Chinese text, making it easier to check item by item and making it less likely to be misaligned than page-by-page comparison.
English text is usually in Times New Roman or Arial, and Chinese text is in Song font or Hei font. The font and size should be consistent within the same document.
After generation, the clause number, amount, date and signature column must be checked, and the machine-translated content needs to be manually confirmed item by item.

The difficulty in comparing English contracts between Chinese and English is not the translation itself, but making the terms in the two languages correspond one to one. Many people divide English and Chinese into two paragraphs. As a result, the Chinese translation of Article 5.2 is next to Article 6. Readers have to flip the page back and forth to find the position, and it is easy to miss it when checking.

This article is written for people who need to hand over English contracts to Chinese readers for review, such as business personnel, financial personnel, legal assistants, and small teams who need to retain bilingual versions. After reading, you will know which comparison format to choose, how to match fonts, where to check after generation, and how to manually arrange the terms neatly in Word.

The following method takes OmniDoc's document translation as an example. The general typesetting principles also apply to bilingual documents generated by other tools.

How to compare Chinese and English in an English contract so that the terms correspond one to one? One sentence conclusion

First give the conclusion: Use left and right comparison (bilingual comparison) to output, the original text and the translated text are arranged side by side according to the original text structure, and then check the numbers and numbers one by one. Only when it is necessary to provide a separate Chinese version, only the translation will be considered.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
It needs to be compared item by item, or the other party or colleagues need to review it.	Left and right comparison output	The English terms and Chinese translations are adjacent, and the terms and conditions can be matched at a glance.
Only show Chinese to the other party, and keep English for your records only.	Only output the translation	The layout is concise and the document is shorter, but it is not convenient to review the original text.
The contract contains many forms, such as payment plans and attachment lists.	A comparison version that retains the table structure	The rows and columns of the table will be retained to reduce misalignment caused by line breaks.
The original text is a scanned PDF	Directly upload the scanned copy for translation, and then manually check the bar number	Scanned documents can also be translated, but identification deviations require manual confirmation.
The result is used for formal signing	The reference manuscript is for reference only for reading and understanding.	Machine translation may contain wording errors. Professionals should be asked to review the English original and translation before signing.

Before you start: Confirm these points first

Taking a few minutes to make a judgment before taking action can avoid a lot of rework later.

Whether the clause numbers in the original text are consecutive. The bar number is the main basis for alignment when translating. If the original text number is entered manually and there are blank lines or skipped numbers in the middle, the generated reference manuscript will be easily misaligned. First, unify the numbering format, for example, use 1.1, 1.2 for all numbers.
The file usage determines the layout. Used to review items one by one, choose left and right comparison; used to send to people who only read Chinese, choose to output only the translation. If the purpose is not clearly thought out, the subsequent layout plan will be adjusted repeatedly.
The font must be determined in advance. The common fonts for English contracts are Times New Roman and Arial, and Times New Roman is generally used for the main text. The Chinese part can be matched with Song font, and the title should be in bold font. Do not use more than two or three types of fonts in the same document, otherwise the layout will look cluttered.
Whether the original text format is editable. Format preservation in the translation is usually better if the original text is an editable Word or text PDF. For scanned copies, you need to read the tables, headers and footers several times after they are generated.
Important content must be checked manually. Machine translation may mistranslate the mood of modal verbs such as "shall" and "may", and may also handle the format of amounts and dates inconsistently. Clauses involving rights and obligations must be compared with the original English version for confirmation one by one.

Steps to generate Chinese-English bilingual draft of English contract in OmniDoc

Organize the original text. Save the English contract as .docx or PDF format, check whether the clause numbers are consecutive, and delete watermarks and temporary annotations that are irrelevant to the main text of the contract.
Open omnidoc.top and upload the file. Select the document translation function and upload the English contract. The file type can be Word or PDF.
Select a legal text style. The translation options include a style for legal texts, which is suitable for tightly worded texts such as contracts and helps keep terminology consistent.
Select bilingual comparison output. Select side-by-side bilingual comparison instead of outputting only the translation, so that English and Chinese will be arranged correspondingly according to the original text structure.
Check the translation of the same term. The words "Party A", "Party B" and "Force Majeure" in the contract should be translated in the same way throughout the text, such as "Party A", "Party B" and "Force Majeure".
Download the results and open. After the generation is completed, download the file and quickly browse the layout from beginning to end to see if there are any obvious misalignments of entire paragraphs or table breaks.
Make necessary changes. If the result is a PDF, you can use the desktop client's PDF editor to modify paragraph text and insert or delete pages if needed. If you need Word format, you can export to Word first, and then use UniDoc web editor (app.unidoc.top) to adjust fonts and paragraphs.

Check each item after completion

After the draft is generated, do not send it out directly. Check the items one by one according to the table below.

Check items	How to see	What to do if there is a problem
Clause number	Compare the English and Chinese numbers one by one, such as whether 5.2 corresponds to 5.2	When the number is misplaced, go back to the original text and reposition it according to the item number, and retranslate the paragraph separately if necessary.
Amount, date, percentage	Item by item comparison of currency symbol, decimal point and date format	The original English version shall prevail, and the date writing method will be unified in the full text, so as to avoid the mixed use of Chinese and English date formats.
List of forms and attachments	Whether the number of rows and rows is the same and whether the header is complete.	Check whether the original text is editable when the form is disconnected, and the scanned form needs to be manually adjusted.
Font and line spacing	The font of English paragraph is uniform, and there is no garbled code or box in Chinese paragraph.	Unify the font in the editor and make sure the font is installed on the computer
Signature column and page number	Does the signature, date and seal appear completely on the last page?	Re-check after adjusting the paging to prevent the signature bar from being split into two pages
Terminology consistency	Whether the translation of the same term is unified in the full text	Unify the find and replace function and confirm the meaning of the context one by one

# Core comparison

There are three common ways of bilingual contract typesetting, each with its own choice.

Mode	Advantages	Shortcoming	Suitable for the scene
Left and right control	The terms are adjacent one by one, and the checking efficiency is high.	The page is narrow and there are many line breaks in long sentences.	Internal review and item-by-item negotiation
Upper and lower control	Each paragraph is close to each other in English and Chinese, and you can read fluently.	The space has increased significantly, and we need to look up and down when comparing.	For readers who only read Chinese.
Separate into two documents	Their layout is clean, so it is easy to print separately.	If you want to turn the page back and forth, it is easy to miss it.	A version that is officially archived and needs to be kept separately

# which method is suitable for you?

If you want to confirm the terms with the other party one by one, left and right comparison is appropriate, the number and content can be directly corresponding. If you only need to let the Chinese readers understand the general idea of the contract, you can only output the translation, but it is still recommended to keep the English original as the basis. If the length of the contract is long and there are many attachments, it is recommended to check it with left and right before deciding whether to organize it into a separate Chinese version.

# frequently asked questions (FAQ)

1. The English contract is compared in Chinese and English, left and right control or upper and lower control is better?

When checking item by item, it is better to check left and right. English and Chinese are near the same line, and the item number is easy to match. Upper and lower comparison is more suitable for reading, but the space will increase significantly, and you need to look up and down when comparing.

2. What font is usually used in English contracts?

English text is often Times New Roman or Arial, Chinese can be matched with Song style, and the title is in boldface. The key is to maintain consistency in the same document and not to mix too many fonts.

3. If the clause number is confused after translation, what should I do?

It is mostly due to the irregular number of the original text, such as manually entered spaces, jump marks, or inconsistent format. It can usually be solved by unifying the numbering format in the original text and then regenerating the reference manuscript.

4. How to make typesetting in Chinese and English in Word?

If you want to type manually, you can create a new two-column table with an English clause and a corresponding Chinese translation on each line, so that the terms are naturally aligned. You can also use OmniDoc to generate a reference draft, and then fine-tune the font and paragraph spacing in the Word or UniDoc page editor.

5. Can the machine translation contract be directly used for signing?

Direct signature is not recommended. The reference draft is suitable for understanding, item-by-item checking and internal discussion. The provisions relating to rights and obligations shall be based on the English original, and professionals shall be invited to examine and approve the translation before signing it.

# Summary

In the Chinese-English typesetting of English contracts, the key is to align the terms and conditions, and then use a uniform font and itemized check to block the errors before they are issued. Select the right and left control layout, unified numbering and terminology, do a good job in the signature column and form check, Chinese and English typesetting can be both clear and good-looking.

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