Practice Makes Perfect

Informal closings

In English and in French the closing of a letter will depend on the degree of intimacy one shares 

with the intended reader. Sometimes the closing is an entire sentence (which ends with a period); 

sometimes it is just a phrase or a word (which usually ends with a comma or an exclamation 

mark). As these expressions cannot be translated literally, note that many include the notion of 

friendship (amitié), and others reflect the fact that the French kiss (baisers/bises) rather than hug.

Je vous envoie mes amitiés./Amitiés. 

Regards,

Je vous envoie mon très amical souvenir.  Best regards,

Je vous envoie mes pensées bien amicales.  Best wishes,

Amicalement,/Cordialement, 

Yours sincerely,

Chaleureusement, 

Warm regards,

Bien à toi/Ton ami(e) dévoué(e), 

Yours truly,

Je t’embrasse. 

Love,/With love,

Bons baisers! 

Lots of love,

Bises! 

Hugs and kisses!

Grosses bises! 

Lots of hugs and kisses!

Formal closings

Formal French closing formulas tend to be long and flowery. They cannot be translated literally 

into English, because in English a formal closing is quite simply the word Sincerely. Here are a few 

examples of some frequently used French formulas. Note that the title embedded in the closing 

(sir, madam, miss) must refer to the title used in the opening salutation.

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  practice makes perfect  Complete French All-in-One   

Je vous prie d’agréer, Madame/Monsieur/Mademoiselle, l’expression de mes sentiments 

distingués.

Veuillez agréer, Madame/Monsieur/Mademoiselle, mes cordiales salutations.

Je vous prie d’accepter, Madame/Monsieur/Mademoiselle, mes sincères salutations.

The final closing of a letter will be your signature. Sometimes it will be followed by a post-

script (P.S.), which will yield some additional information that was not included in the letter.