Writing a letter in Spanish

Once you have studied some Spanish with us at Inhispania and you begin to settle in Madrid, you may want to get a job to practice your Spanish; you might need to write to the bank; or you might just want to send a friendly letter to your new Spanish mates!

In English it is common to begin written letters with “Dear _____” and end with “sincerely” for both personal and business correspondence. However, in Spanish it is different so if you want to sound more authentic when your write your emails or letters, follow these tips:

(The variation depends on how formal you want to be.)

Greetings

Personal correspondence:

Dear = querido, querida, queridos, queridas (depending on gender and number)

Greetings are also followed by a colon, a comma is considered an anglicism.

Querido Sergio (Dear Sergio) :

Querida Laura (Dear Laura) :

Queridos Sergio y Laura (Dear Sergio and Laura) :

Business correspondence:

Querido is too casual for business, particularly if you don’t know the recipient.Estimado is more appropriate here.

Estimado Sr. Schwarzer (Dear Mr. Schwarzer) :

Estimada Sra. Rodriguez (Dear Mrs/Ms. Rodriguez) :

Estimada Srta. Cruz (Dear Miss Cruz) :

The distinction between señora and señorita tends to be based on age rather than marital status and as there is no true equivalent of English’s Ms. it is normally advisable to use Sra. (señora) when you don’t know if they are married. Unless you know that they prefer Srta.

Use the following if you don’t know their name:

·                     Muy señor mío (Dear sir) :

·                     Estimado señor (Dear sir) : 

·                     Muy señora mía (Dear madam) :

·                     Estimada señora (Dear madam) :

·                     Muy señores míos (Dear sirs, dear sirs/madams) : 

·                     Estimados señores (Dear sirs, dear sirs/madams) :

Or: "to whom it may concern" = a quién corresponda.

SalutationsPersonal correspondence:
The following closing phrases may seem overly keen to English speakers but they are commonly used:

·                     Un abrazo (literally, a hug)

·                     Un fuerte abrazo (literally, a strong hug)

·                     Cariñosos saludos (kind regards)

·                     Afectuosamente (affectionately)

The following are common with close friends or family members:

·                     Besos y abrazos (literally, kisses and hugs)

·                     Besos (literally, kisses)

·                     Con todo mi cariño (with all my caring)

·                     Con todo mi afecto (with all my affection)

Business correspondence:

The safest thing to use would be atentamente or its full version: le saluda atentamente or les saluda atentamente when there is more than one recipient. For a more casual salutation, opt for cordialmente.

Obviously there are other options than these here but it’s a rough guide to get you started! 

You can always ask your native Spanish teacher here at Inhispania to check your letter over for you.