Formal letters
Deze les is nog niet in jouw taal beschikbaar — hij wordt in het Engels getoond.
Woordenschat
- 拝啓Dear Sir/Madam (opening)
- 敬具Sincerely (closing)
- 時候の挨拶seasonal greeting
- 宛名addressee
- 差出人sender
- 件名subject line
- 御社your company (honorific)
- 弊社our company (humble)
- お忙しいところdespite your busy schedule
- ご連絡contact (honorific)
- ご検討consideration (honorific)
- 添付attachment
Formal Letter Writing Conventions
Japanese formal letters follow strict conventions with specific opening and closing formulas, honorific language, and humble expressions. Mastering these is essential for business and official correspondence.
拝啓/敬具 are the standard opening and closing pair for formal letters. 拝啓 opens the letter (like "Dear Sir/Madam") and 敬具 closes it (like "Sincerely"). They always appear as a pair.
お~いたします is a humble honorific pattern: ご連絡をお待ちいたします (I humbly await your contact). This double-humble form (お + verb stem + いたします) shows maximum respect to the recipient.
いただけますと幸いです is an extremely polite request: ご検討いただけますと幸いです (I would be grateful if you could consider this). It is softer and more polite than ください.
何卒よろしくお願いいたします is the ultimate closing formula meaning "I humbly request your kind consideration." It appears before 敬具 and expresses deep respect and gratitude.
These patterns are non-negotiable in formal Japanese correspondence. Using casual language in such contexts would be considered very rude.
Uitdrukkingen
- お忙しいところ恐れ入りますがI am sorry to bother you when you are busy
- ご確認のほどお願いいたしますI kindly ask for your confirmation
- お手数をおかけいたしますI apologize for the trouble
- ご返信お待ちしておりますI look forward to your reply
- 書類を添付いたしましたI have attached the documents
- ご査収くださいPlease review and accept
Veelgemaakte fouten
拝啓...よろしくお願いします拝啓...何卒よろしくお願いいたします。敬具拝啓 must be paired with 敬具; いたします is needed for formal letters
ご連絡をお待ちしますご連絡をお待ちいたしますいたします (not します) is the humble form required in formal letters
検討してもらえると嬉しいですご検討いただけますと幸いですFormal letters require honorific ご検討 and humble いただけますと幸いです
拝啓なしで敬具拝啓...敬具敬具 cannot appear without 拝啓; they are always a pair
お忙しいですがお忙しいところ恐れ入りますがThe full formal expression includes ところ恐れ入りますが
Korte quiz
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