Oftentimes my friends and I discuss what the proper usage is for greetings and signing off professional e-mails. I work with a lot of internal colleagues and clients alike from all sorts of different fields, and it’s been tough to come to a conclusion as to what’s proper or not, but I think this will serve as a pretty good guide, just in case you’re planning on doing business in Brazil!<\/p>\n
For Formal Business\/Government Letters:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Greetings –\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Prezado Senhor\/a (nome):\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Estimado Senhor\/a (nome):<\/em><\/p>\n If you don’t know the person’s name, “Prezado Senhor\/a,” <\/em>or\u00a0“Estimado\/a,” <\/em>both work.<\/p>\n Also, if it’s more than one person, adding simply “Srs” <\/em>or “Senhores”\u00a0<\/em>to the end of the greeting can work as well.<\/p>\n Ex. “Prezados Senhores:”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n After greeting them, you might want to follow with what it is you are getting at with the letter.<\/p>\n A good introduction is:<\/p>\n Venho atrav\u00e9s desta para… – <\/em>Literally, “I come through this for…” But what it means is\u00a0“I am writing this letter to…”<\/p>\n Sign-offs –\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Atenciosamente,\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Grato,\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Cordialmente,\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n A “thank you” before signing off is always nice too…<\/p>\n Ex. Agrade\u00e7o-lhe a aten\u00e7\u00e3o.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Formal e-mails usually follow the same lines, only things tend to be abbreviated.<\/p>\n Formal E-Mails<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Greetings –\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Caro,\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Prezado Sr\/a., \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Sign-offs –\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Atenciosamente (<\/em>or Att.),\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Grato\/a,\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Informal E-mails\/Letters<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I’m personally a big fan of hugs and kisses and smiley faces all around, but I have to be careful as to not send hugs to a client on a first contact. I will usually use one of the greetings above, or simply the person’s name for an informal e-mail. Another greeting can be a simple “Oi (nome)!” (ok, I may have added the exclamation point as something only I do…)<\/p>\n Sign-offs<\/strong><\/p>\n If it’s an informal e-mail to a client or coworker, Att<\/em>\u00a0works just fine.<\/p>\n If you’re more friendly with your client or coworker, or if it’s a good friend, Abra\u00e7os, <\/em>is a good sign-off. Especially in Brazil where hugs are welcomed \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Since I’m even more Brazilian, I will often end e-mails with Beijos<\/em>, the same way I would end an informal e-mail to a friend in the US with “Love,”. Just be careful if you’re sending this to a coworker of the opposite sex. They might not take it as friendly as you mean for it to be!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Oftentimes my friends and I discuss what the proper usage is for greetings and signing off professional e-mails. I work with a lot of internal colleagues and clients alike from all sorts of different fields, and it’s been tough to come to a conclusion as to what’s proper or not, but I think this will…<\/p>\n