
Don’t forget to sign your letter with your name. Note the lack of a comma after the sign-off at the end of the letter.


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:
#DO YOU CAPITALIZE TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN HOW TO#
Sample of how to begin a formal letter in German. You can put a reference number, customer ID, or the reason you’re writing the letter. A subject line is optional, but helps to quickly establish what the letter is about. The line with 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. Tips for German letter writing FormattingĪ formal letter in Germanshould begin with a proper header. How to write a letter in German is therefore a useful skill to have to master your daily life in the country. Many services in Germany are still not digital and formal communication through regular mail is still quite common. But on many formal occasions, it’s still necessary to send a written letter, whether you’re applying for a job or apartment, want to inquire with an official government agency, or need to deal with a lawyer, insurance agency, or other representative of bureaucracy. In this digital age, fortunately we can attend to many issues via email or even instant messenger.
