French Personal Correspondence
Writing to friends and family in French
Writing letters in French can be somewhat tricky, because it requires special formulas. In my lesson on business letters, I covered the basics on writing to a company, for both commercial and employment purposes. This lesson on personal correspondence will help you find the correct formulas when writing to family, friends, or non-commercial acquaintances.
For personal correspondence, there are just two kinds of formulas: greetings and closing formulas. The formulas you use depend on your relationship with the person you are writing to: mainly whether or not you know him/her/them personally. Also, remember to carefully consider whether to use tu or vous.
| I. | Greetings (you can either use the salutation alone, or the salutation + name) |
|
|||
| A. | You do not know the person | ||||
| Monsieur Monsieur xxx |
Sir Mr. xxx |
||||
|
Madame Madame xxx |
Mrs. xxx | ||||
|
Mademoiselle Mademoiselle xxx |
Miss Miss xxx |
||||
| Messieurs | Sirs | ||||
| B. | You know the person | ||||
| Cher Monsieur Cher Monsieur xxx |
Dear Sir Dear Mr. xxx |
||||
|
Chère Madame Chère Madame xxx |
Dear Mrs. xxx | ||||
|
Chère Mademoiselle Chère Mademoiselle xxx |
Dear Miss Dear Miss xxx |
||||
| Chers amis | Dear friends |
|
|||
| Chers Luc et Anne | Dear Luc and Anne | ||||
| Chers grands-parents | Dear Grandparents | ||||
| Mon cher Paul | My dear Paul | ||||
| Mes chers amis | My dear friends | ||||
| Ma très chère Lise | My dearest Lise | ||||
| II. | Closing formulas | ||||
| A. | You do not know the person | ||||
| Je vous envoie mes bien amicales pensées. | Best wishes. | ||||
| Recevez, je vous prie, mes meilleures amitiés. | Yours sincerely. | ||||
| Je vous adresse mon très amical souvenir. | Kindest regards. | ||||
| (See business letter lesson for formal closing formulas) | |||||
| B. | You know the person | ||||
| Cordialement (à vous) | Sincerely (yours) | ||||
| Votre ami dévoué(e) | Your devoted friend | ||||
| Chaleureusement | With warm regards | ||||
| Bien amicalement | In friendship | ||||
| Amitiés | Best wishes, Your friend | ||||
| Bien des choses à tous | Best wishes to all |
|
|||
| Bien à vous, Bien à toi | Best wishes | ||||
| À bientôt ! | See you soon! | ||||
| Je t'embrasse | Love / With love | ||||
| Bons baisers | Lots of love | ||||
| Bises ! | Hugs and kisses | ||||
| Grosses bises ! | Lots of hugs and kisses | ||||
| What goes between the greeting and closing formulas is entirely up to you! :-) | |||||
| The free, twice-weekly About French newsletter keeps you informed about changes
to this site, including new lessons, articles, and forum discussions. Subscribe today!
|
