Letters and Emails (kæri, kær kveðja)

Level 3

Kæri Jón, (to a man), Kæra Anna, (to a woman), Kæru vinir, (to a group). End with Kær kveðja or Bestu kveðjur.

How It Works

Opening a letter. The adjective kær (dear) uses its weak form here, and it agrees with the person or group you write to:

  • a man: Kæri Jón, Kæri viðskiptavinur, (Dear customer)
  • a woman: Kæra Anna, Kæra Guðrún,
  • a neuter word: Kæra starfsfólk, (Dear staff)
  • several people: Kæru vinir, Kæru Jón og Anna, Kæru foreldrar,

The name stays in the nominative, the form you find in a dictionary: Kæri Jón, Kæra Anna.

Other ways to start. kæri and kæra sound warm or a little formal. Everyday and work emails very often start with sæll or sæl, which agrees in the same way: Sæll Jón, Sæl Anna, Sæl öll, (Hi everyone). A neutral opening to someone you don’t know is Góðan dag, and a casual one is Hæ.

Ending a letter. The closing phrases are fixed:

  • Kær kveðja or Kærar kveðjur (Kind regards)
  • Bestu kveðjur (Best wishes)
  • Með kveðju or Með bestu kveðju (Regards)
  • Virðingarfyllst (Yours faithfully), for formal letters
  • Kveðja (Best), short and casual

In Kær kveðja the adjective has its strong form, because it describes the noun kveðja, which has no article. kær agrees with kveðja, a feminine noun.

Examples (6)

  1. Kæri Jón,

    Dear Jón,

    kæri is the weak masculine form, used for a man.

  2. Kæra Anna, takk fyrir bréfið.

    Dear Anna, thank you for the letter.

  3. Kæru vinir, takk fyrir frábært kvöld!

    Dear friends, thank you for a wonderful evening!

  4. Kær kveðja, Sigga

    Kind regards, Sigga

    Word by Word: Dear greeting, Sigga

  5. Bestu kveðjur frá Akureyri

    Best wishes from Akureyri

    Word by Word: Best greetings from Akureyri

  6. Kæru foreldrar, skólinn byrjar 22. ágúst.

    Dear parents, school starts on 22 August.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the strong form kær to address someone.

    Kær Jón,
    Kæri Jón,

    When you address someone, kær takes its weak form: kæri, kæra, kæru. The short form kær belongs in the closing Kær kveðja.

  • Using the masculine form for a woman.

    Kæri Anna,
    Kæra Anna,

    kæri is for a man and kæra is for a woman. For several people, use kæru.

How It Connects

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

Letters and Emails (kæri, kær kveðja)Level 3

Learn This First

kæri builds on weak adjectives and greetings.

Words in This Pattern

kærkveðjakveðjurmeð