破产，是指债务人因不能偿债或者资不抵债时，由债权人或债务人诉请法院宣告破产并依破产程序偿还债务的一种法律制度。多数情况下，破产指一种公司行为和经济行为。而人们有时习惯把个人或者公司停止经营也叫作破产。
Bankruptcy refers to a legal system in which the creditor or debtor petitions the court to declare bankruptcy and repays debts in accordance with bankruptcy procedures when the debtor is unable to repay debts or is insolvent. In most cases, bankruptcy refers to a corporate and economic behavior. People sometimes also refer to the cessation of business operations of an individual or company as bankruptcy.
狭义的破产制度仅指破产清算制度，广义的破产制度还包括重整与和解制度。
In a narrow sense, bankruptcy refers only to the bankruptcy liquidation system, while in a broad sense, bankruptcy also includes the reorganization and reconciliation system.
破产特征
（1）债务人不能清偿到期债务
“到期债务”是指已经到了履行还债义务期限的债务；“清偿”是指全部偿还；“不能清偿”是指没有按期清偿的各种可能性。债务人资不抵债并不能当然认定为“不能清偿”。
（2）存在多数债权人
如果只有一个债权人，只需采取一般民事执行程序即可。当存在多数债权人时，如采取一般民事执行程序，由于债权人竞相请求对债务人财产强制执行，可能造成部分债权人得不到偿还或只得到少量偿还的情况，产生显失公平的结果，因而需要一种特殊的程序——破产程序，以保证各债权人的损益公平。
（3）债权人公平受偿
债务人的全部财产不足以清偿全部债务，决定了债权人无法实现全部债务。而按照“同质债权、同等地位”的要求，必须依照法定顺序，按照同一比例，将债务人的财产在各个债权人之间分配，以保证债权人之间的公平。
（4）免除未能清偿的债务
破产是债权实现的一种特殊形式
破产是在特定情况下运用的一种偿债程序
破产的目的是为了公平的清偿所欠债权人的债务
破产是在法院的监督和指挥下完成的债务清偿程序
破产程序具有总括强制程序的特征
Characteristics of bankruptcy
(1) The debtor cannot repay the due debts
“Due debts” refer to debts that have reached the due date for repayment; “repayment” refers to full repayment; “inability to repay” refers to various possibilities of not repaying on time. The debtor’s insolvency cannot be automatically deemed as “inability to repay”.
(2) The existence of a plurality of creditors
If there is only one creditor, general civil enforcement procedures are sufficient. When there are many creditors, if general civil enforcement procedures are adopted, some creditors may not be repaid or only receive a small amount of repayment due to the competition of creditors to request compulsory enforcement of the debtor’s property, resulting in an obviously unfair result. Therefore, a special procedure is needed – bankruptcy procedure to ensure the fairness of gains and losses of all creditors.
(3) Fair compensation for creditors
The debtor’s total property is not enough to repay all debts, which determines that the creditors cannot realize all debts. According to the requirement of “same quality creditor’s rights, equal status”, the debtor’s property must be distributed among the creditors in accordance with the statutory order and in the same proportion to ensure fairness among creditors.
(4) Exemption of unpaid debts
Bankruptcy is a special form of creditor’s rights realization
Bankruptcy is a debt repayment procedure used in specific circumstances
The purpose of bankruptcy is to fairly repay debts owed to creditors
Bankruptcy is a debt repayment procedure completed under the supervision and command of the court
Bankruptcy procedure has the characteristics of a comprehensive compulsory procedure