!
Whether!you're!corresponding!with!a!Spanish5speaking!friend!or!writing!a!formal!
business!letter,!the!greetings!and!salutations!in!this!lesson!can!help!give!your!letters!
credibility!and!make!them!seem!more!authentic!and!less!like!you're!mimicking!
English.!!
In!English,!it!is!common!to!begin!both!personal!letters!and!business!correspondence!
with!"Dear!___"!and!to!end!them!with!"Sincerely."!In!Spanish,!however,!there!is!more!
variation!depending!on!how!formal!you!wish!to!be.!!
!
Greetings:!In!personal!correspondence,!the!equivalent!of!"dear"!is!querido!or!
querida,!depending!on!the!sex!of!the!person.!The!plural!form!can!also!be!used.!In!
Spanish,!it!is!more!common!to!follow!the!greeting!with!a!colon!rather!than!the!
comma!usually!used!in!English.!
• Querido*Roberto!(Dear!Roberto)!!
• Querida*Ana!(Dear!Ana)!!
• Queridos*Juan*y*Lisa!(Dear!John!and!Lisa)!
• !
But!querido!is!too!casual!for!business!correspondence,!especially!where!you!aren't!a!
friend!of!the!recipient.!Use!estimado!instead.!The!word!literally!means!"esteemed,"!
but!it!is!understood!the!same!way!as!"dear"!would!be!in!English:!!
• Estimado*Sr.*Rodríguez!(Dear!Mr.!Rodriguez)!!
• Estimada*Sra.*Cruz!(Dear!Mrs./Ms.!Cruz)!!
• Estimada*Srta.*González!(Dear!Miss!Gonzalez)!
• !
Spanish!doesn't!have!a!true!equivalent!of!the!English!salutation!Ms.!(and!in!Spanish,!
the!distinction!between!señora!and!señorita!can!be!one!of!age!rather!than!marital!
status).!It!normally!is!fine!to!use!the!courtesy!title!of!Sra.!(the!abbreviation!for!
señora)!if!you!don't!know!whether!she!is!married.!In!fact,!you!should!use!Sra.!unless!
you!know!the!woman!prefers!Srta.*
!
If!you!don't!know!the!name!of!the!person!you're!writing!to,!you!can!use!the!
following!formats:!!
• 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)!
• !
The!Spanish!equivalent!of!"to!whom!it!may!concern"!is!a*quién*corresponda.!
Greetings!in!Spanish!should!be!followed!by!a!colon,!not!a!comma!as!is!common!in!
English.!Such!use!of!the!comma!is!considered!an!anglicism.!!
Salutations:!Although!the!following!closings!for!personal!letters!may!sound!overly!
affectionate!to!English!speakers,!they!are!quite!commonly!used:!!
• Un*abrazo!(literally,!a!hug)!!
• Un*fuerte*abrazo!(literally,!a!strong!hug)!!
• Cariñosos*saludos!(roughly,!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)!
• !
In!business!correspondence,!the!most!common!ending,!used!in!much!the!same!way!
as!"sincerely"!in!English,!is!atentamente.!That!can!also!be!expanded!to!le*saluda*
atentamente!or!les*saluda*atentamente,!depending!on!whether!you're!writing!to!one!
or!to!more!persons,!respectively.!A!more!casual!ending!that!can!be!used!in!business!
letters!is!cordialmente.!!
!
There!are!many!other!greetings!and!salutations!that!can!be!used!other!than!those!
listed,!but!these!will!be!suitable!in!nearly!all!situations.!
!