How to write a polite email or letter in perfect Spanish

You never know when you may need to write a formal letter to a company in Spain, whether looking for work or linked with a holiday booking, car hire issue and so forth. It is always good to try to write a few phrases in Spanish to show you are making an effort. It may help you get a job, land a promotion or just help to practise and extend the Spanish you already know.

Here are some key phrases to help you write a polite email or letter:

Opening Formal emails:

Estimado Señor (surname):
Estimada Señora (surname):

“Estimado/a” just means “esteemed” but the whole opening is the equivalent of “Dear Mr. / Mrs. …” in English.

If you don’t know exactly who you are writing to use:

Muy Señor Mío:

A quien corresponda:
(To whom it corresponds)

Note: In Spanish they use a colon rather than a comma in the opening phrase.

If you know the person fairly well, or after a few correspondences you could start to use:

Querido (first name):

Or if they are female:

Querida María:

You would then begin the letter by explaining who you are. So you would say something like:

Mi nombre es …. y soy ….
(My name is … and I am …)

If you are writing on behalf of a company, you would use:

Le escribo en nombre de ….
(I am writing on behalf of …)

Main body of the letter

• Within the main section you would use formal language, so you would use the verbs in the usted/ustedes form (3rd person endings), rather than tú/vuestro form.
• Do not use abbreviations.
• Use the conditional tense to sound more formal.

Examples phrases include:

Les agradecemos su carta del 12 de octubre
(Thank you for your letter of the 12th October)

En contestación a su carta de fecha de 5 de julio …
(In answer to your letter of 5th July …)

Les informamos que ..
(We are informing you that …)

To find out information:

Me dirijo a ustedes para preguntar si …
(I am writing to ask if …)

Quería saber si … (I would like to know if …)

Me podría informar de … (Could you tell me about …)

Asking to be sent something:

Les agradeceríamos que nos enviasen cuanto antes, a ser posible …
(We would be gateful if you could send as soon as possible …)

Closing a formal letter/email:

Espero su respuesta / Awaiting your reply
Muchas gracias por su ayuda / Thank you for your help
Le saluda atentamente / I send warm regards

Reciba un atento saludo de /

Saludos / Regards