
ich schreibe Ihnen weil… – I’m writing to you because…. Find the right opening lineĭepending on the subject of your letter, you might open with one of the following lines: Treibholz – less formal but still very politeĬontinue addressing the recipient formally throughout your German letter: use “Sie”, “Ihr”, and “Ihnen” as pronouns, and don’t forget to capitalize the words! 2. Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, – Dear Sir/Madam – note that the German is actually plural and is the equivalent of “To whom it may concern”. Sehr geehrter Herr Präsident, – Dear Mister President. Sehr geehrter Herr Professor Doktor Brecht, – Dear Professor Doctor Brecht – note that the title comes after gender-specific noun and before the actual name. Guten Tag Herr Mustermann, – Good day Mr. The following are examples for formal greeting lines when composing a letter in German: 1. Sample of how to begin a formal letter in German Rules for writing a formal German letter You can put a reference number, customer ID, or the reason you’re writing the letter. Februar, 2020”.Ī subject line is optional but helps to quickly establish what the letter is about. The line with the place and date is aligned to the right and can be written as “Berlin, ” or “Berlin, Donnerstag den 20. German rules are complicated, aren’t they?
The window area begins 50mm from the top of the page and is 40mm in height with an indentation of at least 20mm.
When using an envelope with a window ( Fensterumschlag), you need to line up the recipient’s address with the window. You can use a smaller font size for your own address at the top of the letter to save space. You can then include an optional subject line (“Betreffzeile”) before a formal greeting, after which you begin the body text of your letter. Next is a line stating the place from where the letter originates, followed by the date you posted it.
Include the country for an international address. This consists of the sender’s address followed by that of the recipient. A formal letter in German should begin with a proper header.