How to Sign a Love Letter in French Family

Today, I'm going to tell you about writing letters in French. Everything written in French tends to exist more formal than in English; business organization letters, emails… and there are some quite primitive formulas that are withal very much used nowadays.

In this "French letter guide", I will focus on how to kickoff and end your French letter: we utilize very precise salutations and closings in French messages, and some archaic expressions are still common for business letters.

French people volition exist forgiving if you lot brand mistakes in the core of the text, but for example writing "ma chérie" to a friend could send the incorrect message.

And choosing an inappropriate letter endmost similar "je vous embrasse" for a business partner would be a big faux-pas!

And so allow'southward written report how to write letters in French.

5 Mutual French Salutations in Letters

Before you even first writing your French letter, you need to select the correct French salutation or greeting.

When you lot don't know who you are writing to

If y'all don't know who you are writing to, start your letters past "Messieurs".

Other French salutations

1. If you lot are addressing your letter to "le Responsable des livraisons" just you still don't know his/her name, start your letter with "Monsieur," (even if you don't know whether the person is a man or a woman).
2. If you lot know the name of the person, get-go your letter by "Monsieur Ten, or Madame X,". Note that for a business organisation letter, Mademoiselle is no longer used in writing.
3. If yous are writing to someone y'all know, you lot met, or if you are answering to someone who wrote yous first, and then yous can start with "Cher Monsieur Ten," or "Chère Madame X," or even "Chère Mademoiselle X". Employ this French salutation you experience similar being a flake more friendly, non if you lot are writing to complain!
4. When writing to a friend, start with "Cher Pierre," " Chère Anne," – it's common, just still a chip formal.
5. You can besides driblet the formal salutation altogether and just say howdy in French: "salut Pierre", "Coucou Anne"…

Near "cher" in French

In the context of a salutation to showtime a French letter, "cher" means beloved.

1. cher + masculine singular noun = cher Pierre
2. chère + feminine masculine noun = chère Anne
3. chers + plural = chers Anne et Pierre
4. chères + plural feminine merely = Chers Anne et Marie

"Cher" can be followed by "Monsieur/ Madame / Mademoiselle"
Cher Monsieur,

or with "Monsieur/ Madame / Mademoiselle" + a terminal name
Cher Monsieur Dupont

However, I propose you don't write "Cher Monsieur Pierre". This would be frowned upon in higher social classes.

Be careful with "Chéri" ❤️

"Chéri(due east)" (do say the concluding "i"), is a common French love nickname for sweetie.

And then, if y'all write "Pierre chéri", or "monday chéri", Pierre is going to recollect you lot are in love with him.

It's rare present to use "chéri(e)" with friends, although it was common about 50 years agone. But it has changed.

How to Close Your French Letter

A typical manner to close a french business alphabetic character is "dans l'attente de vous lire, je vous…." and so y'all add the French closing expression.

French Business organization Letters Endmost Expressions

These common closings will piece of work for French business letters or very formal messages.

1. For a very formal letter
   "Je vous prie d'agréer, (repeat the salutation), 50'expression de mes salutations distinguées."
   Je vous prie d'agréer, chère Madame Dupont, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées.
2. VERY formal, only y'all are the 1 providing the service or the good,
   write:
   "Je vous prie d'agréer, (echo the salutation), 50'expression de mes salutations dévouées."
3. A flake less formal:
   "Je vous prie d'agréer, (echo the salutation), l'expression de mes meilleures salutations."
4. Withal formal but you know the person – not a friend, but information technology's a personal relationship, not business:
   "Je vous prie d'agréer, (repeat the salutation), l'expression de mes sentiments distingués."
   For example, you are writing to the oncle of your friend, to give thanks him for giving you the name of a plumber. And they're a very formal family:
   "Je vous prie d'agréer, Cher Monsieur Dupont (or even Cher Frank if you are on a kickoff name ground), 50'expression de mes sentiments distingués."

Best regards in French?

To translate 'best regards' in French, write:

1. "Meilleures salutations,"
2. "Salutations distinguées,"

notation these expressions end with a comma.

Warm regards in French?

To say warm regards in French, write "Cordialement". I use this one all the time.

Yours truly in French?

Yours truly is "Bien à vous" or "bien à toi" if y'all are maxim "tu" to the person.

Check out French Today'south audiobook almost French greetings and politeness.

Personal Letters

When you are writing a pesonnal alphabetic character in French to acquaintances, or friends who are quite formal – or perchance older friends – write:
"Amicalement,"
or "Je vous adresse toute mon amitié," both closings meaning kind of like "warmest regards".

What is Bisous at the stop of a French alphabetic character ?

Many foreigners accept been dislocated with a French friend ending a letter or e-mail with bisous… Did you miss a romantic signal?

No yous didn't. Ending a French letter to a friend with "bisou" or "je t'embrasse" is very common, and not necessarily romantic!

With closer friends and family you may shut your letter with:

1. More formal :
   "Affectueusement", "affectueuses pensées" kind of like "Fondly",
   or "Je vous embrasse" which is "hug and kisses" but using the formal "vous".
2. Less formal:
   "Je t'embrasse (bien fort),"
   or "Gros bisous,"
   "Grosses bises,"
   or "Bisous," , the equivalent of "hugs and kisses"in French
3. Absolutely not formal:
   "Bizoux", "bizoudou"… similar 😘

Note that for all these expressions, the "vous" can also be used as a plural, and in this example may, or may non exist every bit formal.

Don't use XOXO in French

In American English, information technology'south very mutual to cease a text with XOXO – pregnant hugs and kisses.

The French don't hug, and don't know this symbol nor would they understand it.

How to Write the Name on the French Envelop?

You'll write the address in the front of the envelop, pretty much the same way you'd exercise anywhere in the United states of america or Europe.

For the name, you have plenty of options: so let'south take my proper noun for example.

1. My first name is Camille.
2. My maiden name is Chevalier.
3. My married name is Chevalier-Karfis (hyphenated names are non mutual for French people: most wives would just take their hubby'southward last name).
4. My husband's start proper name is Olivier.
5. His last name is Karfis.

And so you could write:

1. Camille Chevalier-Karfis – straight and to the point – that'southward the one I would use for a business kind of letter
2. Madame Camille Chevalier-Karfis – pretty common in standard automated business letters
3. Madame Chevalier-Karfis – that's the one I would apply if I wrote a personal letter
4. Madame Olivier Karfis – very very old-fashioned and a tad snob. Using my husband's first proper noun and concluding proper noun to define me… That'south the i my Mom would use…

How to Characterization the Envelop to French republic?

Once you've taken care of the name on the envelop, write the info from the smallest to the biggest entity:

1. start with the name (if it's the business letter of the alphabet, so maybe the salutation, department, certainly the name of the company),
2. Apartment number, po box,
3. street number and address,
4. aught code,
5. town (sometimes followed past Cedex + a number in French).

Camille Chevalier-Karfis
French Today
63 rue de Goas Plat
22500 Paimpol
France

It'due south my actual address: feel costless to write me a letter, a postcard, or lavish me with gifts 🤣

Where to Write Your Return Address?

In France, the return address is written in the back of the letter, at the very top, across the width of the alphabetic character.

Notwithstanding that tin be confusing for your home country.

So, as a precaution, when sending a letter internationally, I always write "from" and then cross the return accost, just in case (as shown on the flick of the envelope featured above)

This "from" in French would be
– "de: X", or "de la office de: Ten",
– or "expéditeur: X"

💌 How to Write a French Dear Letter

If you are writing to your loved one, y'all may start with a French love nickname. "Ma chérie" when writing to a woman, "mon chéri" for a man are the norm.

At the end, you'll probably say I love you in French : "je t'aime", "je t'aime de tout mon coeur". Click on the link to run across variations.

Then you'll probably end with some kind of kiss: here again, there are many ways to ship kisses in French.
"Je t'embrasse amoureusement" is a safe one on the formal side.
"Mille bisous d'amour" is a cuter fashion to transport kisses to your loved 1.

How to Write a Condoleance Letter in French

I hope y'all won't have to write a condoleance letter in French.

To express your sympathy in French, the most used phrase would exist:

Je vous adresse mes (sincères) condoléances
Delight receive my (sincere) condolences/my sympathy.

Here are other typical examples – I won't interpret them : the words don't translate well literally but I'm sure you'll go the thought.

Be conscientious to choose the advisable politeness formula: choosing vous or tu, and conjugating the French verbs accordingly. To first and end your letter, y'all'd use the regular French letter writing expressions.

1. En ces moments difficiles, je suis désolé de ne pas pouvoir être avec toi, mais je tenais à te faire part de mes sincères condoléances.
2. Prenant office à votre douleur, je vous présente mes sincères condoléances, à vous et à votre famille.
3. C'est avec grande tristesse que nous avons appris le décès de… nous partageons votre peine et vous faisons part de nos sincères condoléances.
4. Nous sommes profondément émus par ce deuil qui vous affecte. Dans cette difficile épreuve, nous vous assurons de notre amitié et vous envoyons toute notre affection.
5. Nous vous offrons toute notre affection et notre soutien pendant ces moments difficiles. Nous pensons bien fort à vous et à votre famille et vous adressons nos condoléances les plus sincères.
6. Je tiens à yard'associer à votre peine et à vous apporter tout mon soutien en ces durs moments que la vie nous impose.

Expressing your sympathy in a little bit less formal way:

1. C'est avec une immense tristesse que j'ai appris la mort de…. Je te présente mes condoléances les plus sincères et si tu every bit besoin de parler, je suis là. Tu peux toujours compter sur moi, n'hésite pas. Bien affectueusement.
2. Un petit mot cascade dire que nous pensons bien à toi et à toute ta famille dans ces moments difficiles. Je garderai un splendid souvenir de… et de sa gentillesse. Si tu veux te changer les idées et venir nous voir, ça serait avec plaisir. Gros bisous.

How to Write a Thank you Note in French

Since I lived both in France and in the U.s.a., I can tell you that writing thank you notes is less frequent in France than it is in the US.

Nosotros also have a much smaller market place for greeting/special occasion cards and don't send out these likewise often.

In very posh families, information technology's non uncommon to have a special pad made out with your name at the pinnacle, and you use that to answer invitations or send thank you notes. But it'southward disappearing nowadays.

The norm would be to kickoff your cheers note with "merci pour"… or "j'écris cascade te/vous remercier cascade….". More ways of saying Thank you in French.

⚠️ Punctuation When Typing a French Alphabetic character

Some rules of punctuation used when typing out a text are different in French than in English.

1. United nations point d'exclamation ! Un point d'interrogation ? Space BEFORE and after
2. Les deux points : united nations point virgule ; space Before and after
3. Une virgule,  a comma – no infinite earlier, space afterward
4. Un point. A period – no space before, space after
5. Trois petits points (also called les points de suspension)… – no space earlier, space after
6. " les guillemets "  ouvrez les guillemets – fermez les guillemets – space after/before
7. (les parenthèses) no space

French Letter Vocabulary

Let me simply list the common French letter of the alphabet vocabulary

1. une enveloppe – envelop
2. un timbre – stamp
3. affranchir – to stamp
4. 50'expéditeur – expeditor
5. le destinataire – recipient
6. la poste – post office
7. le courrier – mail
8. la boîte aux lettres – letterbox

Voilà, I hope this commodity will help you next fourth dimension you write a letter in French.

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Adept luck with your French studies.

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Source: https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-vocabulary/how-to-write-letters-in-french/

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