compensation和indemnity都有“赔偿”或“补偿”的含义。区别在于compensation更偏向于“赔偿”，主要指导致损失的责任人或过错人(wrongdoer)等直接向受害人或受损害人进行赔偿[1]，如 He received 50 000 from the employer as a compensation for his loss of his right hand (他因失去右手而收到雇主所赔付的5万元钱），表明雇主应当为事故负主要责任。而indemnity则偏 向于以下两个含义：（1)是“代位赔偿”，指接收的是来自他人而不是直接来自主要过错人或责任人所支付的赔付[2] , ( 2 )是指主要责任人或过错人“对代位赔偿人的补偿”，即非责任人或非主要责任人在替他人承担损失赔偿之后，接受责任人或其他责任人所支付的补偿。如在交通事故中，由车主保险商而非责任事故的驾驶员向受害人进行赔付，可称为“代位赔偿”。而在汽车保险中，汽车被盗，保险商向投保人或受益人先行赔付，也称为“代位赔偿”，保险商由此可取得“代位追索权”，即取得在窃贼被擒获之后，向窃贼追索补偿的权利，而窃贼必须向 “作为代位赔偿人的保险商补偿其先行支付的保险赔偿金”，这种情况既为indemnity的第二种含义。又如因雇货的侵权行为而导致对他人的伤害的情況，此时，作为非主要责任人但负连带责任人的雇主可先行向受害人作“代位赔偿”。然后，雇主可以向作为直接责任人的雇员要求“对代位赔偿人的补偿”。因而, 当人们看到使用indemnity的时候，应当意识到其中具有“代位赔偿”关系的存在。indemnity所指的这两种赔偿或补偿权利一般由合同约定或适用法律而产生[3]，经常用于保险、海上救助、第三人之诉等场合。
至于compensate和indemnify，这两个动词的使用以及它们相互之间的区別与它们各自相对应的名词相似。
[1] "Payment for injury or loss sustained," Cf. James E. Clapp, Random House Webster's Dictionary of the Law, at p. 93, Random House Reference & information Publishing(2000).
[2] "A right to receive compensation for a loss from someone other than a wrongdoer who caused the loss, or to receive reimbursement for a payment that one has to make to someone else to compensate other person for a loss." Id. at p. 233.
[3] "A right of indemnity can arise in two ways： (a) by contract. An insurance policy is a contract by which the insurance company agrees, for consideration in the form of payment of premiums, to indemnify the insured against losses or liabilities specified in the policy, (b) by operation of law. In certain situations a person held liable for a tort is entitled to indemnity from another tortfeasor regarded as more directly at fault. For example, if the owner of a car is held liable under stale 】aw for injury caused by negligence of the driver, or an employer is held liable for the tort of an employee under the doctrine of respondeat superior, the owner or employer is entitled to reimbursement from the driver or employee whose tortuous conduct actually caused the injury. " Cf. James E. Ciapp ： Random House Webster's Dictionary of the Law, at p. 233, Random House Reference & Information Publishing (2000).