Formal and informal writing
መደበኛና መደበኛ ያልሆነ ጽሑፍ
How to write to a landlord, a school, an employer or a government office, and how that differs from a text to a friend: contractions, word choice, greetings and sign-offs, with a full model email.
What changes between formal and informal
Amharic shows respect with አንቱ forms (እርስዎ, ይሂዱ). English has no polite you, so respect comes from other things: full forms instead of contractions, longer polite phrases (Could you…? I would like…), more formal words, complete sentences and a proper greeting and sign-off. American formal writing is polite but direct: say what you need in the first two lines.
In Amharic
አማርኛ አክብሮትን በ አንቱ ቅርጾች ያሳያል (እርስዎ፣ ይሂዱ)። እንግሊዝኛ የአክብሮት you የለውም፤ ስለዚህ አክብሮት ከሌሎች ነገሮች ይመጣል፦ በአሕጽሮት ፋንታ ሙሉ ቅርጾች፣ ረዘም ያሉ የትሕትና አገላለጾች (Could you…? I would like…)፣ መደበኛ ቃላት፣ ሙሉ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች፣ እና ተገቢ ሰላምታና መዝጊያ። የአሜሪካ መደበኛ ጽሑፍ ትሑት ግን ቀጥተኛ ነው፦ የሚፈልጉትን በመጀመሪያዎቹ ሁለት መስመሮች ይናገሩ።
| Informal | Formal | |
|---|---|---|
| contractions | I can't come. | I cannot attend. |
| asking | Can you fix it? | Could you please arrange a repair? |
| wanting | I want to know… | I would like to know… |
| words | get, ask for, help, fix, buy | receive, request, assist, repair, purchase |
| sorry | Sorry! | I apologise for the inconvenience. |
| thanks | Thanks! | Thank you for your help. |
| text-speak | pls, thx, u, ASAP | please, thank you, you, as soon as possible |
- Formal: no contractions, no slang, no emoji, no text abbreviations (u, pls, thx).
- Soften requests with could, would and please: Could you please send me the form?
- Do not write in all capitals, and do not use several exclamation marks.
- Informal text: Hey, running 10 min late. See u soon!
- Formal: I am writing to let you know that I will be ten minutes late.
- Informal: Thanks a lot for the help!
- Formal: Thank you very much for your assistance.
- Formal: I would appreciate a reply by Friday.
Greetings and sign-offs
Start a formal email with Dear + title + family name: Dear Ms. Garcia. If you do not know the name, write Dear Sir or Madam, or Dear Hiring Manager. End with a sign-off, a comma, and your full name on the next line. In the US, people use the family name with Mr./Ms./Dr.; with an Ethiopian name, the given name is often treated as the family name: Mr. Getachew.
In Amharic
መደበኛ ኢሜይልን በ Dear + መጠሪያ + የቤተሰብ ስም ይጀምሩ፦ Dear Ms. Garcia። ስሙን ካላወቁ Dear Sir or Madam ወይም Dear Hiring Manager ይጻፉ። በመዝጊያ፣ በኮማ፣ እና በሚቀጥለው መስመር ሙሉ ስምዎ ይጨርሱ። በአሜሪካ ሰዎች የቤተሰብ ስምን ከ Mr./Ms./Dr. ጋር ይጠቀማሉ፤ በኢትዮጵያ ስም ብዙ ጊዜ የአባት ስሙ እንደ ቤተሰብ ስም ይቆጠራል፦ Mr. Getachew።
| Very formal | Formal / neutral | Informal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| greeting | Dear Sir or Madam, | Dear Mr. Brown, / Dear Ms. Tadesse, | Hi Sara, / Hey! |
| opening line | I am writing to inquire about… | I am writing about… | Just wanted to ask… |
| closing line | I look forward to hearing from you. | Thank you for your help. | Talk soon! |
| sign-off | Sincerely, / Respectfully, | Best regards, / Kind regards, | Thanks, / Cheers, / See you, |
- Use Ms. for a woman when you do not know if she is married. Mrs. only if you know she prefers it.
- Never start a formal email with Hey, or with no greeting at all.
- Write a clear subject line: Repair request: Apt. 12, broken heater.
- Dear Principal Johnson,
- Dear Hiring Manager,
- I look forward to hearing from you.
- Best regards, Hirut Alemayehu
- Subject: Absence on Friday, November 6 (Dawit Bekele, Grade 3)
A model email to a landlord
A good formal email has five parts: a clear subject line; a greeting; the reason for writing in the first sentence; the details (what, where, since when, what you have already done); a polite request with a date, then thanks and a sign-off. Keep it short: one screen. The same plan works for a school (absence), an employer (time off) or an office (a question about a letter). Model email: Subject: Repair request – Apt. 12, broken heater Dear Mr. Thompson, I am writing to report that the heater in my apartment (Apt. 12) has not worked since Sunday, November 1. The apartment is very cold at night, and I have two young children. I have checked the thermostat and changed the batteries, but the heater still does not turn on. Could you please send someone to repair it this week? I am at home every day after 3 p.m., and you may enter with your key if I am not there. Thank you for your help. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Meseret Haile Apt. 12
In Amharic
ጥሩ መደበኛ ኢሜይል አምስት ክፍሎች አሉት፦ ግልጽ የርዕስ መስመር፤ ሰላምታ፤ የጻፉበት ምክንያት በመጀመሪያው ዓረፍተ ነገር፤ ዝርዝሩ (ምን፣ የት፣ ከመቼ ጀምሮ፣ እስካሁን ምን እንዳደረጉ)፤ ቀን ያለው ትሑት ጥያቄ፣ ከዚያ ምስጋናና መዝጊያ። አጭር ያድርጉት፦ አንድ ስክሪን። ይኸው ዕቅድ ለትምህርት ቤት (መቅረት)፣ ለአሠሪ (ፈቃድ) ወይም ለመሥሪያ ቤት (ስለ ደብዳቤ ጥያቄ) ይሠራል። ምሳሌው ኢሜይል በእንግሊዝኛው ክፍል ይገኛል፦ የማሞቂያ ብልሽትን ለአከራይ ማሳወቅ፣ ምን እንደሞከሩ መግለጽ፣ በዚህ ሳምንት እንዲጠገን በትሕትና መጠየቅ፣ መቼ ቤት እንደሚገኙ መናገርና ማመስገን።
- First sentence = why you are writing: I am writing to report / request / ask about…
- Give facts: dates, apartment or account number, what you have already tried.
- Ask for one clear action with a time: Could you please… this week?
- Keep a copy. In the US, a written request is your record if there is a problem later.
- School: I am writing to let you know that my son, Dawit, will be absent on Friday because of a doctor's appointment.
- Employer: I would like to request two days off on December 24 and 25.
- Office: I received a letter dated October 12, and I would like to ask what documents I need to send.
- Job: I am writing to apply for the position of front desk agent advertised on your website.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dear Mr. Brown, I would like to ask when I will receive my deposit. | Formal emails use Dear, polite requests and no text-speak or multiple exclamation marks. | |
| Dear Ms. Tesfaye, (or Dear Sara, if you know her well) | Mr./Ms. go with the family name, and Ms. for a woman. | |
| I am unable to attend tomorrow. Please excuse my absence. | No contractions or abbreviations in formal writing; a full sentence. | |
| I look forward to hearing from you. | Use the fixed closing phrase. | |
| Dear Sir or Madam, could you please help me with this? | Over-formal phrases sound unnatural in American English; be polite and simple. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Which is the best greeting for an email to your child's teacher, Mrs. Lopez?
Which sentence is formal?
Formal word for “buy”: ___
Which sign-off fits a formal letter?
Complete the closing line: “I look forward to ___ from you.” (one word)
You don't know the name of the person reading your job application. Start with:
What should the first sentence of a formal email do?
Make it polite: “___ you please send me the form?” (one word)
Which is the best subject line for a repair request?
Formal word for “help” (verb): ___