{"id":118286,"date":"2024-03-15T02:14:09","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T06:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/how-to-write-an-email-in-french\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T09:39:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T13:39:09","slug":"how-to-write-an-email-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/how-to-write-an-email-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write an Email in French"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emails are a part of everyday life, and there’s a right way and a wrong way to write one.\u00a0This is all the more true in France, where the art of formal French<\/a> correspondence is highly valued.<\/p>\n

Learning the subtle differences between English and French emails is useful for learning more vocabulary<\/a> and for real-world French use. Here is how to write an email in French, and some practical language that can help you out along the way.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

French emails are structured similarly to American emails, with addresses, content in space-separated paragraphs, salutations and contact info.<\/p>\n

1. The French Header and Subject<\/h2>\n

A French en-t\u00eate<\/em><\/strong> (header) begins with the sender’s coordonn\u00e9es<\/em><\/strong> (contact info):<\/p>\n

Pr\u00e9nom<\/em> (first name) NOM<\/em>\u00a0(last name, usually in caps)<\/p>\n

Intitul\u00e9 du poste<\/em> (job title)<\/p>\n

Adresse<\/em> (address)<\/p>\n

This is followed by, farther down on the other side of the page, the recipient’s info:<\/p>\n

\u00c0 l’attention de<\/em>\u00a0(to the attention of) Monsieur\/Madame<\/em> LAST NAME<\/p>\n

Nom de l’entreprise <\/em>(company name)<\/p>\n

Adresse<\/em> (address)<\/p>\n

2. How to Start an Email in French<\/h2>\n

You start your email with a formule d’appel <\/em><\/strong>(formal salutation). This can be as simple as “Madame,”<\/em><\/strong> or “Monsieur,”<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0if the recipient doesn’t know you, or “Cher Monsieur,\/Ch\u00e8re Madame,”<\/em><\/strong> (“Dear Sir,\/Dear Madam,”) if the recipient knows you.<\/p>\n

If you’re sending the email to, say, two people, you can say “<\/strong>Madame, Monsieur,”<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(“Madam, Sir,”). Avoid using\u00a0Mademoiselle<\/em> (Miss\/Ms.), because the marital situation of your recipient is irrelevant.<\/p>\n

If you know the job title of the recipient, all the better. You can say, for example, “Madame la Directrice,”<\/em><\/strong> (“Madam Director,”) or “Monsieur le Professeur,”<\/em><\/strong> (“Professor,”), or even “Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident de la R\u00e9publique,”<\/em><\/strong> (“Mr. President,”).<\/p>\n

Some special cases:<\/p>\n