Formal Letters & Emails
Formal Letters & Emails
Formal German correspondence follows fixed opening and closing formulas, much stricter than the loose conventions of English business email — get these standard phrases right and the rest of the letter can be built from language you already know.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Sehr geehrte/r ...: the formal salutation
Sehr geehrte Frau Schmidt, / Sehr geehrter Herr Müller, / Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
Dear Ms. Schmidt, / Dear Mr. Müller, / Dear Sir or Madam,
geehrt takes an adjective ending that agrees with the gender of the person addressed: geehrte before a woman's name, geehrter before a man's. When you don't know the recipient's name, Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren is the fixed, invariant formula — no ending changes needed since Damen und Herren is plural. Unlike casual English email openers ('Hi Frau Schmidt' would sound oddly informal in German), skipping this formality in a formal letter is a real register mistake, not just a stylistic choice.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen: the standard formal closing
Mit freundlichen Grüßen, [Name]
Kind regards, [Name]
This is the near-universal formal closing, roughly matching English 'Sincerely' or 'Kind regards' but with far less variation than English offers — German business correspondence overwhelmingly defaults to this one phrase rather than choosing between several options.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Sehr geehrte/r ... | zair geh-AIR-teh/geh-AIR-ter | Dear ... (formal) |
| Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren | zair geh-AIR-teh DAH-men oont HAIR-en | Dear Sir or Madam |
| Mit freundlichen Grüßen | mit FROYNT-likh-en GRUE-sen | Kind regards |
| Ich schreibe Ihnen bezüglich... | ikh SHRY-beh EE-nen beh-TSUEG-likh | I am writing to you regarding... |
| Ich möchte Sie darüber informieren, dass... | ikh MERKH-teh zee dah-RUE-ber in-for-MEE-ren, dahs | I would like to inform you that... |
| Anbei finden Sie... | AHN-by FIN-den zee | Please find attached... |
| Ich bedanke mich im Voraus. | ikh beh-DAHNK-eh mikh im for-OWS | Thank you in advance. |
| Für weitere Fragen stehe ich Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung. | fuer VY-teh-reh FRAH-gen SHTAY-eh ikh EE-nen GAIR-neh tsoor fair-FUE-goong | I am happy to answer any further questions. |
| Ich bitte Sie um eine baldige Antwort. | ikh BIT-eh zee oom EYE-neh BAHL-dee-geh AHNT-vort | I ask you for a prompt reply. |