Business language:
how to word international emails correctly.

“Freundliche Grüße/Viele Grüße/Herzliche Grüße/Beste Grüße” – there are many different ways to end an email in German. The Germans like to mix things up and use phrases like “Sonnige Grüße” or “Viele Grüße aus XY” to add variety to the many emails we write every day. According to Statista, approximately 848.1 billion emails were sent in Germany in 2018 – both private and business. We also want to stand out from the crowd and ensure that our business partners or customers remember us thanks to our somewhat more creative wording.
Business emails are no longer as formal as a business letter, for example. As a result, it is quite normal to use more informal and personalised wording, especially if you have been working together with the other person for many years.

Even emails in English are no longer a rarity. The ongoing globalisation of our business landscape means that we have more and more to do with international business partners and customers. It is an advantage to know certain customs here too. We have put together a few of them for you:
For the British, the first email contact should be formal and polite. After that though, the formal address and wording are no longer necessary and the emails become increasingly informal. It is also a good idea to avoid writing long texts.
In our neighbouring country of France (be careful, they call an email a “courrier éléctronique” (short: “courriel”) the style resembles the German one: generally polite and a not too short.
Russia, on the other hand, does things a little different. The form of address, closing words and niceties are often omitted here. The longer the contact exists, the more this kind of formalities is simply omitted, but this is by no means to be understood as impolite.

To help you dazzle your international business partner or customer with your next email despite the metaphorical minefield of email conventions, we have put together a little something. Impress your business partners and customers by adding a greeting or closing words in theier local language.
You will find a small selection here that you can use to impress in your next email.

Here’s how to proceed: Simply choose the appropriate wording and include the translation in your email. Whether formal or informal – you are sure to find what you are looking for in our compilation.