Formal Letter Conventions

Level 6

Formal German letters follow a strict 'frame': a salutation ending in a comma, a body starting with a lowercase letter, and a closing formula followed by a signature with no punctuation.

How It Works

1. The Salutation (Anrede)
The most common formal greeting is Sehr geehrte... (Very honored...). The ending of geehrt changes based on the recipient:

  • Masculine: Sehr geehrter Herr [Name],
  • Feminine: Sehr geehrte Frau [Name],
  • Plural/Unknown: Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

2. Punctuation and Capitalization
Unlike English, which often uses a colon or a comma followed by a capital letter, German uses a comma after the salutation. Because the salutation is grammatically the start of the first sentence, the first word of the body must be lowercase (unless it is a noun or the formal Sie).

3. The Body
In formal writing, you must always use the formal address Sie and its related forms (Ihnen, Ihr). These are always capitalized in correspondence to show respect. While informal pronouns like du can also be capitalized in personal letters as a stylistic choice, capitalization is mandatory for the formal forms.

4. The Closing (Grußformel)
The standard professional closing is Mit freundlichen Grüßen. Crucially, there is no comma after this phrase. Your name follows on the next line.

Examples (4)

  1. Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, hiermit bewerbe ich mich um die Stelle.

    Dear Sir or Madam, I hereby apply for the position.

    Word by Word: Very honored ladies and gentlemen, hereby apply I myself for the position.

    Note the comma after the greeting and the lowercase 'hiermit' starting the body.

  2. Sehr geehrter Herr Dr. Weber, ich danke Ihnen für Ihre Nachricht.

    Dear Dr. Weber, I thank you for your message.

    Word by Word: Very honored Mr. Dr. Weber, I thank to-you for your message.

    The adjective 'geehrter' takes the -r ending for a masculine recipient. 'Ihnen' and 'Ihre' are capitalized as formal address.

  3. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Max Mustermann

    Sincerely, Max Mustermann

    Word by Word: With friendly greetings Max Mustermann

    There is no comma after 'Mit freundlichen Grüßen' in German.

  4. Sehr geehrte Frau Schmidt, vielen Dank für das Telefonat.

    Dear Ms. Schmidt, thank you very much for the phone call.

    Word by Word: Very honored Mrs. Schmidt, many thanks for the phone-call.

    The body starts with lowercase 'vielen' because it follows the comma of the salutation.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding a comma after the closing formula.

    Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Lukas Müller
    Mit freundlichen Grüßen Lukas Müller

    In English, a comma is standard (Sincerely,). In German, it is a mistake to put a comma after the closing greeting.

  • Capitalizing the first word of the letter body.

    Sehr geehrte Frau Maier, Ich schreibe Ihnen...
    Sehr geehrte Frau Maier, ich schreibe Ihnen...

    Since the salutation ends in a comma, the sentence continues into the body. Therefore, the first word should be lowercase unless it's a noun or 'Sie'.

  • Using the wrong adjective ending for 'geehrt'.

    Sehr geehrte Herr Schmidt
    Sehr geehrter Herr Schmidt

    When addressing a man, the adjective must have the masculine strong ending -er.

How It Connects

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

Formal Letter ConventionsLevel 6

Learn This First

To learn formal German correspondence, learners must understand the formal address system (Sie), how to decline adjectives in salutations (mixed adjective endings), and how to formulate polite requests (formal imperative).