Formal Letters

Level 4

Lugupeetud proua Kask! … Lugupidamisega Mari Mänd. No commas after the greeting or the closing.

How It Works

Greetings. Choose one that fits how well you know the person.

  • Lugupeetud härra Tamm! / Lugupeetud proua Kask! Formal. Use härra or proua with the surname, or write the full name: Lugupeetud Mari Mänd!
  • Austatud is another formal choice: Austatud Jüri Kask!
  • Hea Mari! or Tere, Mari! Friendly but still polite, common in e-mails.

Punctuation. After the greeting, put an exclamation mark or no mark. Estonian does not use a comma here, and the first sentence starts with a capital letter.

Closings. Lugupidamisega is the standard formal closing. Others are Parimate soovidega (with best wishes), Tervitades (with greetings) and Ette tänades (thanking you in advance). There is no comma between the closing and your name.

Addressing the reader. In a letter to one person, polite Teie, Te, Teid, Teile are customarily capitalised. When the letter goes to several people, write teie in lowercase. Polite Te always takes a plural verb: Kas Te saaksite …?

Soften requests with palun or with the conditional: Palun saatke … or Kas Te saaksite saata …?

Examples (6)

  1. Lugupeetud härra Tamm!

    Dear Mr Tamm,

    An exclamation mark or no mark after the greeting; never a comma.

  2. Tänan Teid kiire vastuse eest.

    Thank you for your quick reply.

    Teid is capitalised because the letter goes to one person.

  3. Kas Te saaksite mulle dokumendid homseks saata?

    Could you send me the documents by tomorrow?

    Te takes the plural verb saaksite, and the conditional makes the request polite.

  4. Ootan Teie vastust.

    I look forward to your reply.

    A common final line before the closing.

  5. Lugupidamisega

    Yours sincerely

    Write your name on the next line, with no comma after Lugupidamisega.

  6. Tere, Jaan! Saadan sulle koosoleku kokkuvõtte.

    Hi Jaan! I'm sending you the summary of the meeting.

    A friendlier e-mail between colleagues who use sina.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting a comma after the greeting.

    Lugupeetud proua Kask,
    Lugupeetud proua Kask!

    Estonian ends the greeting with an exclamation mark or with no mark. A comma is not used.

  • Putting a comma after the closing.

    Lugupidamisega, Mari Mänd
    Lugupidamisega Mari Mänd

    No comma goes between Lugupidamisega and the name, whether they are on one line or two.

  • Using a singular verb with polite Te.

    Kas Te saaksid mulle helistada?
    Kas Te saaksite mulle helistada?

    Polite Te is grammatically plural, so the verb takes the teie ending, even for one person.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Formal LettersLevel 4

Learn This First

Formal letters use polite Teie and fixed greetings.

Words in This Pattern

lugupeetudtelugupidamine