There comes a time in our lives when, believe it or not, we have to write letters. Well, even though nowadays letters are more or less a thing of the past, it is still quite important to know how to write this type of text. E-mails have taken the place of letters in the present and they have the same format, except for the address and date. So, as you can see, it is very important to know some common phrases used in letters or e-mails. This post will help you with some common phrases used in formal and informal letters. Let’s begin.

To start, I want to mention one thing that you should keep in mind. When writing a letter in Spanish, the opening phrase, for example Dear Ana (Querida Ana) is not followed by a comma as it is the case for most languages. Instead, in Spanish we use the semicolon “ :” after the opening formula when we write a letter.

Now let’s take a look at the informal letter and its main elements. I will also tell you some phrases that you can use while writing an informal letter.

The informal letter

When you start an informal letter, you usually use the following formulas:

• Hola X: (Hello..X)
• Querido / Querida X: (Dear… X)
• Muy querido/ querida X: (Dearest…X)

When you end an informal letter, you usually use the following formulas:

• Cuidate (Take care)
• Saludos (Best)
• Besos (Kisses)
• Besos y abrazos (Hugs and kisses)
• Con cariño (Love)
• Con amor (With love)

You can start by using the following phrases:

• Te escribo porque (I am writing you because)
• Tanto tiempo sin hablarnos (Long time no talk)
• Espero que estés bien (Hope you’re doing well)

The formal letter

When you start a formal letter, you usually use the following formulas:

• Estimado señor o señora: (Dear Sir or Madam)
• Estimado(a) Sr. / Sra. / Srta.: (Dear Mr. / Mrs. / Ms.)
• Muy señores míos: (Dear Sir or Madam)

When you end a formal letter, you usually use the following formulas:

• Saludos cordiales, ( Kind regards)
• Quedo a la espera de su respuesta,(Looking forward to your reply, )
• Atentamente, / Cordialmente, (Sincerely, / Sincerely yours, / Yours sincerely, / Yours faithfully)

You can start by using the following phrases:

• Lo/la estoy contactando sobre…(I am reaching out regarding…)
• Le escribo porque…(I am writing you because…)
• Adjunto encontrará…(Attached please find…)

These are more or less the most common phrases used when writing informal and formal letters in Spanish, and here you can see some useful phrases to use in letters in Spanish. After writing your text though, you should ask a Spanish proofreader to take a look over it just to make sure that there are no mistakes. Also, if you do not feel like writing a letter in Spanish, but have to do it, you can always ask a freelancer to translate it.