Formal letters
Vocabulary
- 称谓form of address / salutation
- 敬启respectfully opens (formal letter opening)
- 顺祝商祺wishing you good business (closing formula)
- 附件attachment / enclosure
- 署名signature
- 日期date
- 主题subject / topic
- 致函to send a letter to (formal)
- 回函reply letter
- 函告to notify by letter
Writing Formal Letters in Chinese (正式书信)
Letter Structure
A formal Chinese letter (函 or 信) follows this order: 1. 称谓 — Salutation (e.g., 尊敬的…先生/女士/您好) 2. 正文 — Body (purpose + details + request) 3. 结语 — Closing formula 4. 署名 + 日期 — Signature and date
Formal Salutations
- 尊敬的 (zūnjìng de) — Respected/Dear (used before name or title)
- 敬启者 (jìng qǐ zhě) — To whom it may concern (when recipient is unknown)
- Never use 你好 in formal letters — always 您好 or 尊敬的…
Opening the Body: 兹因 / 特此 / 谨
- 兹因 (zī yīn) — due to the fact that (very formal opening): 兹因工作需要，特致函贵公司。
- 谨就…事项如下说明 — hereby provide the following explanation regarding…
- 现将相关事宜函告如下 — hereby notify you of the relevant matters as follows
Closing Formulas
- 顺祝商祺 (shùn zhù shāng qí) — Wishing you good business (business letters)
- 此致 敬礼 (cǐ zhì jìng lǐ) — Yours respectfully (most common formal close)
- 敬候佳音 (jìng hòu jiā yīn) — Awaiting your favorable reply
Expressions
- 兹因工作需要特致函贵公司恳请给予协助Opening a formal business letter explaining the reason for writing and making a polite request
- 此致敬礼The standard closing formula for formal Chinese letters equivalent to Yours respectfully
- 顺祝商祺Business letter closing formula meaning wishing you prosperity used after the main closing
- 现将相关事宜函告如下请贵方查阅Introducing the subject matter of a formal letter and asking the recipient to review
- 如有疑问请随时与本人联系Standard offer to be contacted for questions at the end of a formal letter
- 敬候佳音Closing phrase meaning awaiting your favorable reply used in request letters
Common mistakes
亲爱的王先生，你好！我想问你一些事情。尊敬的王先生：您好！兹因工作需要，冒昧致函，恳请告知以下事项。亲爱的 is for friends and family — formal letters use 尊敬的; 你好 becomes 您好; 我想问 is too casual — 冒昧致函 (taking the liberty of writing) and 恳请告知 (please be so kind as to inform) are the proper formal phrases
最后，再见。此致 敬礼再见 is a spoken farewell; formal Chinese letters close with 此致 on one line followed by 敬礼 on the next line; this is a fixed formula that cannot be replaced with informal equivalents
我是李明，我写这封信是因为我需要帮助。本人李明，兹因急需协助，特致函于贵公司。我是 is too conversational; 本人 is the correct formal self-reference in letters; 兹因…特致函 is the fixed formal structure for opening a business letter explaining the reason
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