Exam Writing: An Informal Letter
தேர்வு எழுத்து: முறைசாரா கடிதம்
Informal French letters and messages follow a loose but recognizable shape — a warm opening, casual closing formulas — that's worth having ready-made for A1 writing tasks. Formal correspondence, with its much stricter formulas, comes later.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Cher/Chère — the informal letter opening
Cher Thomas, / Chère Priya,
அன்பான Thomas, / அன்பான Priya,
Cher (to a man) and Chère (to a woman) both mean 'dear' and open an informal letter, agreeing in gender with the person addressed — this is one of the few times you'll gender-agree a word based on the person you're writing to rather than a grammatical noun. Salut also works as a more casual opener, like starting with 'Hi' instead of 'Dear'.
Closing formulas: warmth, not formality
Je t'embrasse, / Amicalement, / Bisous,
அன்புடன், / நட்புடன்,
Informal letters close with warm, personal formulas rather than the stiff business-letter closings French is famous for: Je t'embrasse ('I hug/kiss you') and Bisous ('kisses') are affectionate, used with close friends and family; Amicalement ('in friendship') is a slightly more neutral but still informal option, closer to Tamil's அன்புடன்.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| French | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cher / Chère... | shair | அன்பான...aṉbāṉa... | Dear... (masc./fem.) |
| Salut ! | sah-LU | ஹாய்!hi! | Hi! (casual opener) |
| merci de ta lettre | mair-SEE duh tah LET-ruh | உன் கடிதத்திற்கு நன்றிuṉ kaḍidhaththiṟku naṉṟi | thanks for your letter |
| comment vas-tu ? | koh-mahn vah-TOO | நீ எப்படி இருக்கிறாய்?nī eppadi irukkiṟāy? | how are you? |
| je t'embrasse | zhuh tahn-BRAHS | அன்புடன் முத்தமிடுகிறேன்aṉbuḍaṉ muthamiḍugiṟēṉ | hugs/kisses (closing) |
| à bientôt | ah bee-an-TOH | விரைவில் சந்திப்போம்viraivil sandhippōm | see you soon |
| amicalement | ah-mee-kahl-MAHN | நட்புடன்naṭbuḍaṉ | in friendship (closing) |
| bisous | bee-ZOO | முத்தங்கள்mutthaṅkaḷ | kisses (casual closing) |