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How to end letters in English with respect. How to finish a letter in English: phrases for business and personal correspondence

Surely many friends who have gone to different cities or countries do not exchange in social networks every day in short messages, and occasionally they write to each other about their lives in letters. Someone writes regular mail, someone - electronic. Writing the letter itself is easy, but how do you finish the letter? For many a problem. Today we'll talk about how to finish a letter correctly.

A letter to a friend

To properly finish a letter to a friend, first re-read the entire text, at the same time and check for errors. Perhaps you missed something that you can add at the time of checking the letter.

For yourself, you need to clearly know: do you want to receive an answer instantly or do you expect an answer when the opportunity arises? Before you write something at the end of the letter, decide on a logical link so that there is no such feeling that the letter is not finished, unless, of course, you want to intrigue the recipient.

But how to end a letter to a friend completely, leaving only a small phrase? It’s not worth saying goodbye too tediously, because you probably don’t say goodbye like that in life. When you have edited your letter, the end turned out to be meaningful and the thought is over, then at the very end at the bottom of the letter you can add phrases such as:

  • Your (I) girlfriend / friend (Name);
  • >Waiting for an answer;
  • I want to see you soon;
  • See you;
  • Wait for a visit;
  • Come soon;
  • Kiss (NAME);
  • Best wishes;
  • WITH Best wishes, your friend / girlfriend (Name).

Business letter

When completed business letter it is necessary to check it even more carefully for errors and literacy of the text, so that everything is clearly stated, so that there is nothing superfluous, naturally without such words as “what”, “yes, no problem” and the like. Your tone should be quite trusting and fairly easy to understand.

Approaching the end of your story, you should finally interest the addressee in something, because the end of the letter is more memorable. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't show all your cards in the beginning. Gradually, you need to let the interest grow and at the end, open it completely so that your letter remains in your memory.

Before thinking about how to finish a business letter, you should write down the list of documents attached to the letter, if any. The list must be numbered, and the documents must be nested in the order in which you previously indicated. The last phrase that is used in a business letter may sound like this:

  • Sincerely (Name);
  • Hope for cooperation;
  • With respect (Name);
  • Thank you for responding to my offer.

Farewells in English in letters

When you communicate with friends or correspond with a loved one, you do not have to follow certain boundaries of communication. Somewhere you can play a joke or write a word that you would not be able to use in a business letter. This allows you to communicate more openly.

Nowadays, different slang is widespread among young people, which is incomprehensible to the older generation. One of these slangs is the replacement of Russian words with foreign ones. How to finish a letter in English is no different from the previous tips. Any letter should be checked so as not to lose face and send it with a bunch of blots and unfinished thoughts. Just at the end, you can add such a zest as a farewell to English language. For example, we will provide you with a few suitable phrases:

  • With Love (Name) - With love (Name);
  • Talk to you later - Let's talk later;
  • Good Cheers!* - Have a good mood!*;
  • Best wishes (Name) - With best wishes (NAME);
  • See you soon - See you soon;
  • Yours, (Name) - Yours / Yours (Name);
  • All the best - With best wishes;
  • Thanks in advance - Thank you in advance for your reply;
  • Good luck - I wish you good luck;
  • Say hi to everyone - Say hello to everyone;
  • Truly yours (Name) - Sincerely (Name);
  • Sincerely yours (Name) - Sincerely yours / yours (Name).

The most common phrases to complete a business letter in English are Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Yours truly, Best regards. Below are the features of the use of each of them.

Yours sincerely

Possible options: Sincerely yours (American English), Sincerely.
The most common way to complete a business (formal) letter in English. It is used when the recipient's name is indicated at the beginning of the letter, for example: "Dear Ms. Paula Hill".

Yours faithfully

The turnover is considered a bit obsolete, although it can still be found in business correspondence, especially in British English. It is rarely used in American English (cf. Yours Truly). A feature of using this expression is that it should be used if there is no indication of the recipient's name in the appeal at the beginning of the letter, for example: "Dear Sir" or "Dear madam".

Yours truly

American analogue of the expression Yours faithfully.

Best regards

Possible options: Kind regards, Warm regards, Regards, Kindest regards, etc.
These expressions sound less formal than Yours sincerely And Yours faithfully. It is recommended to use them only when the letter is NOT strictly official and is addressed to a person with whom you have a more friendly (and not just business) relationship. It should be noted, however, that these expressions are often used in electronic business correspondence.

Summary

Dear Ms Paula Hill, => Yours sincerely(British English), Sincerely yours(Amer.English), Sincerely.
Formal style, the name of the recipient is indicated in the appeal.

Dear Sir or Madam, => Yours faithfully(British English ), Yours truly(amer.eng.).
Formal style, the name of the recipient is NOT indicated in the appeal. Expressions are considered a bit obsolete, although they are still found.

Any appeal=> Best regards, Kind regards, Warm regards, Regards, Kindest regards.
Less formal ways to end a business letter. Often used in business e-mail.
see also

Like the form of address, the signature in the letter (the final formula of politeness) depends on who you are writing the letter to. The most general formula seems to be Sincerely yours. Depending on the tone and style of the entire letter, it can be interpreted as strictly formal, as less formal, or as completely informal. This formula can be translated into Russian Sincerely or Sincerely yours / Sincerely yours. There are the following formula options:
sincerely,
Sincerely yours,
Very sincerely yours,
yours sincerely,
yours very sincerely,
Always sincerely yours etc.

In addition, the correspondence uses the following forms:
– official style:

Yours truly / Yours very truly - Sincerely / Devoted to you (formally and officially)

Truly yours/ Very truly yours – Sincerely / Committed to you (somewhat less formally, but also officially)

– less formal style:

Faithfully yours - Regards

Cordially yours - Sincerely yours
Best Regards– Sincerely / With best wishes (if the addressee is a colleague (close, not quite formal acquaintance) or friend)
Best Wishes– Best wishes

–subordinates usually address their superiors:

Respectfully yours - Sincerely

– informal style (for example, in letters to relatives or well-known people):

yours cordially,
Very cordially yours - Yours cordially / yours

Faithfully yours,
Yours (always) faithfully - Always devoted to you / to you

yours ever,
ever yours,
as ever,
Yours as always - Always yours / yours

yours affectionately,
Lovingly yours - Loving you / you

Devotedly (yours),
Yours truly - Devoted to you / to you

Your very sincere friend - Your / your sincere friend

– in a letter close friends And relatives:
Affectionately (yours),
yours affectionately,
Yours with love - Loving you

(Lots of) love
(Lots of) kisses

Your loving son / daughter - Your loving son / daughter
Your devoted niece - Your devoted niece

After the final politeness formula, a comma is placed, the first or last name is written on the next line (Note that in English the first name is always written first, and then the last name):
yours sincerely,
Kitty Brown

The origin of writing in Sumer, Egypt and China led to the development of a special system of thinking that helped to convey emotions and feelings. Today, almost everyone can write.

But not everyone can boast that they know 100% how to do it right.

We cannot imagine life without email. Carrier pigeons are a thing of the past, we only read about carriages and wagons in books, but the Internet helps us communicate. By the way, the first person to write an email was Ray Tomlinson. He worked as a programmer and in 1971 made a breakthrough in writing letters to global network Internet.

With the advent of writing, the rules for writing a letter arose. Of course, in many countries they differ from each other. But do not forget that when writing a letter in English, you need to know some features, otherwise you may be misunderstood.

  • personal letter may contain various phrases, each of which has its own meaning, for example:

Always- always (your, yours)
best wishes- best wishes
your friend- your friend (your girlfriend)
Affectionately- with love
Yours always- always yours (your)
Much love- with love
see you soon- see you later
All my love- with all love
Eternally yours- always yours (your)
see ya(ya is short for you) - see you
Cheers- while (used in Britain)
Hugs and kisses or common XOXO

The history of the origin of HOHO began in the Middle Ages. When signing contracts, the sign X was a necessary phenomenon, which testified to the validity of the signing of the contract. Later in the UK, letters began to be signed with a “laughing” sign, which denoted hugs - hugs (indicated by the letter O) and kisses (as indicated by the letter X, reminiscent of two kissing people).

If you need to constantly communicate with foreigners using emails, we advise you to refer to the section, where you will find a lot of interesting things.

manner, both verbal and writing in world dialects is not the same. If abroad the greeting "How are you?" acceptable and ordinary, then in our country it can even be considered tactless.

And in order not to seem like a hypocrite for a foreigner to whom we are writing a message, we must adhere to the appropriate dialectical framework. Before how to end a letter in english, you should pay attention to who and under what circumstances we write it. Writing to a friend is not the same as writing to a business partner.

Options for ending letters to a friend

Unlike strict business style, a letter to a foreign friend can end with many, even template expressions. The appropriateness of this or that end depends on the emerging relationship and the intention to continue them.

In such messages, use the words that describe your attitude or situation that you want to convey. From that how to end a letter in english to a friend, may depend on his impression of reading.

Examples of correct conclusions:

  • Thanks for the conversation, I'll write later - thanks for the conversation, I'll write later;
  • Regret, I'm waiting for work - I'm sorry, I'm waiting for work;
  • We talked a lot, but it's time for me - we had a great conversation, but now I have to go;
  • Waiting for news from you - waiting for news from you.

For especially close friends, there are farewell options in the form of Loving you, Sincerely yours, With love. Before doing so, supply a comma and the author's name after these words. This will describe great love and sincerity for the recipient.

Variants of the signature of the letter in various cases

For a competent conclusion, it is not at all necessary to end the letter with wishes or attitude towards the recipient. In some cases, too obsessive goodwill in the end may seem suspicious, then how to finish a letter in english using a simple signature would be the most appropriate option.

In official letters, use signatures in the form of brief details of the author, company name. In invitations and similar messages, you can end with gratitude and a call to action -thanks, Author, we will wait for you.

Variants of signatures in different situations:

  • I await your response - I am waiting for your response;
  • Regards - we wish you all the best;
  • I'll wait for our next meeting - I will wait for our next meeting.

Conclusion

Depending on whether how to end a letter to a friend in english, you can strengthen or weaken your companionship in the future. The same law applies to invitations, commercial mailings.

Using even formulaic statements, you will achieve a greater location for the recipient than just put an inexpressive period at the end.