How to end a business letter correctly. How to end a letter in English: phrases for business and personal correspondence

Tired of “Best regards” and want something new? The team at MediaDigger, a platform that automates the storage of a contact database and makes it possible to send mass personalized emails, has made a selection of alternative signatures with which you can end your email. After all, despite everything, email still remains the main method of business communication:

1. Best regards– For lovers of the classics. The safest option.

2. Sincerely yours– There is something in this, but not everyone can afford such a signature. You need to be and look a certain way.

3. Best wishes– A little less formal and applicable in a business letter.

4. Just enter a name– Quite suitable, especially in cases where there is an active exchange of letters.

5. Your initials– This is also acceptable, but the question arises: why couldn’t you just write your name in full, and that leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.

6. Have a nice day– For a final letter, when you don’t expect to hear anything else from your interlocutor during the day, it’s quite suitable.

7. Have a great week– The same as “have a good day”, only if you don’t communicate anymore within a week.

8. Best regards– English version “with respect.” The safest for business communication. Some Russian speakers only use this signature. In principle, this is acceptable, but if you communicate a lot with foreigners and everyone knows this. Otherwise it looks a little strange.

9. Kind regards– The same as best regards, but a little less formal.

10. With friendly greetings“We’ve never seen anything like this, but we’ve heard about it.” I just want to say that they called from the 70s and asked to return the signature to them.

11. See you later– In case you have agreed on a meeting in the near future and emphasize that you remember about it.

12. Good luck in your difficult task!– This signature can be used when you tried to help someone (or were unable to do so), and are trying to somehow cheer up the interlocutor.

13. Sent from iPhone– It’s possible to somehow explain why there may be typos in the letter, but it may seem that you are bragging about your phone model.

14. Sent from a smartphone– Safer than “sent from iPhone”: the interlocutor understands that you wrote from your phone and the auto-correct could have made typos, while you are not showing off your phone.

15. Thank you for your attention– This phrase is best left for those who are trying to sell you something.

16. Thank you– If you are truly grateful, then you can. But you shouldn’t sign every letter like this when you give instructions to someone. This will give off an orderly tone.

17. With perfect respect– For those who like to stand out. A little romantic and pretentious.

18. Please think about nature before you print this letter.– First of all, you shouldn’t tell anyone off. Secondly, this inscription can sometimes be longer than the text of the letter itself. Thirdly, is anyone still printing letters these days?

19. Ready for service- Hmmm. Simply no.

20. With love– It’s nice and acceptable if you’ve known each other for a long time.

21. All the best- This would be more suitable, if you do not expect to communicate with someone in the near future.

22. I kiss you deeply– It’s quite suitable for family and loved ones.

23. With fatherly tenderness– You can, but only if you are really a father and have just learned what the Internet is.

24. Yours forever– It’s better to leave this for the registry office.

25. Have a nice weekend“This is usually written by those who are diligently trying to spoil them for you by sending a letter at the end of the working day on Friday indicating the things that need to be done. In general, it’s possible, but only when you don’t burden someone, otherwise it smacks of sarcasm.

26. Warm regards– It is acceptable if you used to address each other as “comrade”, but not for everyone else.

27. Your humble servant– It strongly smacks of sycophancy and it’s hard to imagine a situation where this would really be appropriate.

28. Sincerely devoted to you– The same problems as “Your humble servant.”

29. With hope for further fruitful cooperation– A little long, but acceptable, for example, for the first letter, when writing to a stranger.

30. Kisses– If you write to your other half, then it is permissible.

Do you know any other options? Write to us at

Communication is one of the basic human needs, along with sleep and food. U modern people there are several available and effective ways talk with friends and relatives, colleagues and business partners. These include face-to-face communication, cellular communications and the Internet.

The last two methods appeared relatively recently. For a long time, it was possible to communicate at a distance only through messages. They were written by hand and sent by mail. This has survived to this day. However, handwritten ones have been replaced by emails.

Let's give a definition

The word "letter" has several meanings.

Firstly, it is a system of written signs, which is necessary for recording oral speech.

Example: Scientists have deciphered an ancient letter

Secondly, this appearance informational text printed on paper.

Example: The students asked their teacher how to finish a letter in accordance with the norms accepted in the Russian language.

Thirdly, handwritten or electronic text that contains information intended for the addressee.

Example: A letter from home with important news from his father was received a week after it was sent.

And how to start it? All people ask themselves these questions, regardless of what kind of message they are writing: electronic or handwritten. In this article we have to answer the first of them.

Types of letters

Before we talk about how best to finish a letter, it’s worth understanding its types. This determines the overall tone and expressions used. So, the messages could be:

• business;
• personal;
• congratulatory.

It is customary to call this type of documentation that serves as a means of exchanging information between different organizations and institutions. It may also be called “official correspondence”. Some types of letters that fall into this category require a response (for example, petitions, appeals, requests), others do not (for example, warnings, reminders, statements).

A letter that is written by one private person and addressed to another is called personal.

Letters that are intended to congratulate an unofficial person, organization or institution on some joyful event or achievement are usually called congratulatory.

Below we will figure out how to finish a letter correctly, depending on its type and purpose.

General structure

Regardless of the type, all letters have approximately the same structure. It is worth noting that the first two points are typical only for official correspondence.

1. Sender's address.
2. Date of.
3. Greetings.
4. Text containing basic information.
5. Final phrases.
6. P.S.

Business correspondence

The writing of this type of correspondence should be treated with special attention, since errors in spelling, punctuation or punctuation by the sender can negatively affect the image of the company or institution that he represents. When composing sentences, preference should be given to simple sentences and a large number of complex constructions should be avoided. The overall tone should be respectful. The main thing is that the essence of the letter should be revealed at its end, since people pay more attention to this particular fragment of the text.

How to end a letter that has official status? The most successful closing phrases are:

• I hope for further fruitful cooperation.
• I hope for continued cooperation.
• Thank you for your attention.
• Sincerely, Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich.
• With respect, Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich.

How to beautifully end a letter to a private person

This type of correspondence does not require special attention from the compiler. However, in the process of writing, a person should still not forget about literacy. In this regard, it is much easier to write emails since errors found can be easily corrected. In the case of handwritten text, you will have to rewrite the finished text.

Before starting the process, you need to decide on the main content and reaction of the recipient. If it is important for the sender to receive a response as soon as possible, then it is better to make appropriate notes in the final part. The ending should be a logical conclusion to everything written above, otherwise it can put the recipient in an awkward position and make him think about what the sender wanted to say.

The most common phrases used at the end of a letter are:

• Your friend, Peter.
• See you!
• Waiting for an answer.
• Kisses, Maria.
• Come as soon as possible.
• All the best, your friend Peter.

The sender can come up with the ending of the letter himself. In this case, it will have a unique character and the recipient will definitely like it.

When answering the question of how you can end a letter of congratulations, you need to pay attention to its appearance. If the sender and recipient are officials, then the final phrases should be neutral. In other cases, a certain freedom is allowed.

Let's sum it up

Question: “How to finish a letter?” - quite logical. Communication by phone and in social networks is built according to laws different from those adopted during correspondence. However, every person has to act as a letter writer at least once in his life. Therefore it is necessary to have general ideas about the canons and rules existing in this area. Otherwise, the first experience may be the last. But writing a letter, sending it and waiting for a response from the addressee is an exciting process.

The words spoken by a person at parting play an important role, since they reinforce the overall impression of the conversation. It is especially important to leave a good impression of yourself after the first meeting, because further communication or cooperation depends on this. Correct, and most importantly polite, ending of a conversation plays a very important role in communication.

If we are talking about correspondence, then all of the above takes on even more higher value. Not in vain folk wisdom says: “What is written with a pen cannot be cut out with an axe.” Whether you are writing a congratulations to a friend or a business letter to a partner, do not forget the importance of ending your message politely and pay special attention to the end of the letter.

So what do the British write at the end of a letter, and what final phrases do they use in business and personal correspondence? Let's take it in order, and start with official letters.

Business letter in Englishlanguage

An official farewell in a letter in English requires increased attention to politeness. Correctly selected closing phrases in a business letter will enhance the effect of the above text and simply leave a good impression of you as a pleasant interlocutor, so the ending of a business letter should be friendly and polite, unobtrusive and unbiased, and moderately emotional.

Let's look at examples of how you can finish a business letter.

To say goodbye correctly, you can and should use standard phrases, as well as words of gratitude at the end of the letter. They allow you to give a businesslike farewell in a letter to English language polite tone:

(*appropriate if the addressee and the addressee do not know each other personally)

So, we figured out how to finish a business letter in English. As you can see, there are many options for ending a letter. The main thing is not to forget to write your first name, last name, position, and in some cases, contact information.

For clarity, here are a few excerpts from the endings of official letters.

Farewells inpersonal correspondence

Unlike business, personal correspondence is much more emotional. It emphasizes the closeness and warmth of the relationship between the addressee and the addressee. At the same time, like any correspondence in English, personal letters are distinguished by the utmost politeness. This is worth remembering when writing a message to your close or not so close friends and acquaintances in English-speaking countries.

With all this, in personal correspondence, as in business, there are template phrases. They usually begin and end a letter. Below we have provided a selection of several common closing expressions for ending a personal message.

After the final phrase, we put a polite wish for all the best in English and sign.

At the end of a letter to an acquaintance or not a close friend, you can write the following:

If you are writing to a very close person or lover, then you don’t have to skimp on your feelings and wishes at the end of the letter:

Of course, this distinction is quite arbitrary, therefore, how to finish a personal letter in English depends to a large extent on you, your emotionality and sincerity.

Examples of personal letters in English

A letter to a friend

congratulatory letter

Gratitude for the gift

Etiquette formulas are required when preparing a business letter. They are determined by the genre of the message (letters of invitation, letters of congratulations, letters of condolences) and are largely conditional, ritual in nature. Also A.S. Pushkin noted in “Journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg”: “Every day we sign ourselves as humble servants, and, it seems, no one has ever concluded from this that we ask to be valets.”

Business letters of invitation and congratulations include many etiquette phrases. Instead of an etiquette frame (words of greeting and farewell), business letters use the following addresses: Dear Nikolai Ivanovich! Dear Mr. Bobylev! IN At the end of the letter, before the signature, place the final politeness formula: Yours sincerely!;Sincerely;With sincere respect!;Best wishes!;Thank you in advance for your answer…;We hope that our request will not be difficult for you.…;We look forward to successful continuation of cooperation…;We hope for your interest in expanding connections... etc.

These final remarks of politeness are followed by self-naming the official signing the document and his signature. The self-name includes an indication of the position held and the name of the organization if the letter is not sent on the institution’s letterhead, otherwise - only the position:

If a letter is sent on behalf of the Academic Council of a scientific institution, the self-name is an indication of the role that a particular person performs in this body:

Etiquette rituals, expressed by performative verbs, are usually included in set expressions, like other speech etiquette formulas: With pleasure) I invite you You to take part in...; Thank you Thank you for your participation...; Sincerely Thank you You for...; Cordially Thank you You for...; I beg We will direct you to our address...; I assure You know that we will make every effort...; wish Good luck to you and we look forward to future mutually beneficial cooperation...; With thanks I confirm receiving from you...;

Etiquette rituals used in business letters include

- different kinds praise : You showed heartfelt attention to orphans and children left without parental care...(direct praise); Considering your great contribution to the development of technical progress in industry...(indirect praise); Since your company is a leading supplier of computer equipment...(indirect praise)

expression of hope, confidence, gratitude at the end of the letter : I hope for…;I hope for further good and mutually beneficial relations…; We hope that a decision will be made as soon as possible... We hope that the result of the negotiations will be long-term and fruitful cooperation between our enterprises…; We hope for further fruitful cooperation…; We wish you success and hope for future mutually beneficial cooperation…;We hope that our request will be considered soon…;We hope for a speedy response (resolution of our issue)…;We were glad to receive your letter…;Thank you very much for the fax dated 06/04/2010…; We gratefully acknowledge receipt of your letter.…;Thank you behind...;

expression of congratulations, apologies, wishes: Congratulations ...; We wish you success in…;We apologize for… about…and so on.

Polite form naming the addressee in business correspondence involves the use of the pronouns “You”, “Your” with capital letter: According to your please send To you latest catalogs of our products; At the end of this month we will be pleased to use Yours services.

Efficiency cannot be ignored etiquette formulas, the arsenal of which in Russian speech etiquette is very large. The success of the business largely depends on the tone of the letter.

The universal principle of using etiquette means is the principle of politeness, which is expressed in the recommendations given to readers in one old Russian letter book and which have not lost their relevance to this day: “The first duty of the writer is to remember his own position, to know the position of the person to whom we are writing, and to imagine the latter is as clear as if we were standing in front of him and talking.” This is especially important these days, when official correspondence is becoming more personal and dynamic. Today, the genre of business writing requires the compiler not only to standardize linguistic means, but also to demonstrate his own individuality.

Everyone knows that the column “knowledge of foreign languages” is in the resume of any serious company. And if you write “free possession” in such a column, then the chances of getting a sweet spot increase many times over. And the phrase “business English” will have an almost magical effect.

As a rule, business English involves written communication. And this is good. Firstly, there is always the opportunity to think and look into the dictionary. Secondly, there are so many standard expressions that a person who speaks English from the Pre-Intermediate level and above will have almost no difficulty writing a decent letter and sending it to business partners.

The main thing in composing a letter is its framing. That is, the beginning and the ending. As they say, people are greeted by their clothes, and the last words are remembered best (thanks to Stirlitz). Accordingly, if you start your appeal correctly and finish it just as correctly, then the very essence of the letter will be perceived better, and the overall impression of your speech can play a decisive role.

By adhering to certain writing rules, you are sure to achieve success. Let's start writing a business letter in English!

Greetings

As everyone should polite people: any communication begins with a greeting. And in the same simple way, the structure of a business letter also begins with a greeting.

Dear Sir or Madam- addressing a person if you do not know their name, title, or even whether they are a man or a woman. Important: there is no exclamation point after this greeting! And there’s not even any punctuation at all, just the next sentence starts on a new line. You can put a comma if you really want.

Dear Mr White(Ms White/Mrs White/Miss Catcher) - addressing the recipient by last name (the first name is not placed after Mr, Ms, etc.!) I hope everyone remembers that Mr is an address to a man, Miss is an address to unmarried woman, Mrs - for a married woman, Ms - for a woman who does not want to emphasize her marital status.

Important: never write the full word Mister, Mistress - only in abbreviation (Mr, Mrs)!

Dear Mr John- addressing the recipient by name (with a closer business acquaintance)

Dear Nick- addressing the recipient by name in a very old, almost friendly business acquaintance

It is important to focus on appeals to women. Nowadays the universal address Ms (both married and unmarried) is very common. Therefore, in business letters they often write this way, so as not to offend :) If you know for sure that the addressee is a married woman, you can safely indicate Mrs. But if you know that you are definitely not married, it’s better not to take risks with Miss. Because, oddly enough, this offends some people.

After the greeting, you can remind yourself. More precisely, about the last communication: according to e-mail, by phone, in person, etc. Even if the recipient’s memory is not that of a girl and he addressed you 5 minutes ago.

Thank you for your message.- Thank you for your message.

Thank you for your e-mail of…- Thank you for your email dated (date)...

With reference to your phone call/ letter of (date)/ advertisement in “NW Magazine”…- regarding your phone call/letter (on such and such a date)/advertisement in NW Magazine…

In reply (in answer/ in response) to your request…- In response to your request...

In accordance (in conformity) with your request…- In accordance with your request...

In compliance with your request…- In fulfillment of your request...

Further to our conversation/ telephone talk…- In continuation of our conversation/telephone conversation, etc.

We are writing in response to your publication in…- We are writing in response to your publication in...

We were pleased to receive your inquiry…- We were pleased to receive your request...

Reasons for contacting

After the greeting and reminders, there should be a phrase that will bring the addressee up to date and explain why you are sending him this letter in the first place.

We are writing to inquire about…- We are writing to make inquiries about...

We apologize for...- We apologize for...

We confirm that...- We confirm that...

We would like to clarify…- We would like to make it clear...

We kindly ask you to…- We kindly ask you...

I am writing to enquire about/ to apologize for/ in connection with/ get more details about/ explain…- I am writing to you to find out about/ to apologize for/ in connection with/ to find out details about/ to explain...

This is to confirm… To confirm...

We hereby inform you… We hereby notify you...

Completing the letter

This is your catchphrase.

As always, if you have any questions, please send them directly to me. - As always, if you have any questions, please contact me directly.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. /Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly- If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me/directly to me, please.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. - If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me (literal translation).

Thank you and I am looking forward to hearing from you.- Thank you and I look forward to your response.

Thanking in advance.- Thank you in advance.

Please contact us again if we can help in any way.- Please contact us again if we can help you in any way.

Signature, or politeness formula

The final touch remains. In Russian official letters, everything ends in the standard way: “With respect, …”. In English it is customary to say “sincerely yours.” But in accordance with etiquette, it will still have to be translated into Russian as “with respect.”

Yours faithfully,
Sincerely, ... (if the person's name is unknown, i.e. the letter began with Dear Sir or Madam)

yours sincerely,
Sincerely, ... (if you know the name, i.e. the letter began with Dear Mr/Miss/Ms/Mrs)

If you have been communicating with a person for a long time and address him in a letter by name, then it is appropriate to use any of the following options (can be translated as “with best wishes”):

Best wishes
kind regards,
Warmest regards.

For this, I say goodbye.

Kind regards,
iLoveEnglish.

We hope that this sample business letter in English will help you find a new job or create business connections in the near future.