签订, 签署 and 签字 - difference?

[tooironic]

Hi guys. Just wondering what the difference is between these three words: 签订, 签署 and 签字?

What are their common collocations? In what situations are they commonly used?

Thanks!

[roddy]

Given that you ask a fair number of these 'what's the difference' questions, is there any chance you could spend five to fifteen minutes investigating yourself and then ask for confirmation / further assistance? I find it hard to believe any decent dictionary just has 'sign' for all three.

[tooironic]

I'm not just looking for the difference in terms of literal meaning but also common collocations and situations they are usually used. That kinda stuff you can't usually get in a dictionary, and even if you can find it, the examples given are usually not clear or reliable enough. Humans tend to be a bit more enlightening.

[roddy]

Ahem. Even a quick look at the Guifan specifies 条约，协议，合同等 for 签订, while for 签署 we have '重要文件、条约上正式签字‘，while for 签字 there's a useful little note distinguishing it from 签名. That looks like collocations and situations to me, and even if it isn't good enough, it's enough for a much more detailed question.

[medivhsteve]

签字, sign names， 签订(合同)， sign (a contract) ，usually in business， 签署（法令），sign (a law), usually in politics.

[Clary]

PS: 签署，签订 are both verbs, while 签字 is a verb-object structure phrase. Now you see the difference in usage.