How to Write an Email in French

Emails are an integral part of daily communication, and knowing the correct way to write one is crucial. This is especially true in France, where formal written correspondence is held in high regard.

Understanding the nuanced differences between English and French emails is beneficial for expanding your vocabulary and for practical use in real-life situations. Here is a guide on writing an email in French, complete with useful phrases to assist you.

French emails follow a structure similar to American emails, containing addresses, content in separated paragraphs, salutations, and contact information.

1. The French Header and Subject

A French en-tête (header) starts with the sender’s coordonnées (contact details):

Prénom (first name) NOM (last name, usually in caps)

Intitulé du poste (job title)

Adresse (address)

This is followed by, farther down on the other side of the page, the recipient’s info:

À l’attention de (to the attention of) Monsieur/Madame LAST NAME

Nom de l’entreprise (company name)

Adresse (address)

2. How to Start an Email in French

You begin your email with a formule d’appel (formal salutation). This can be as simple as “Madame,” or “Monsieur,” if you don't know the recipient, or “Cher Monsieur,/Chère Madame,” (“Dear Sir,/Dear Madam,”) if you are acquainted.

If you’re addressing the email to two individuals, you can write “Madame, Monsieur,” (“Madam, Sir,”). It's best to avoid using Mademoiselle (Miss/Ms.), as the recipient's marital status is not relevant.

If you know the recipient's professional title, it's preferable to use it. For instance, you could write “Madame la Directrice,” (“Madam Director,”) or “Monsieur le Professeur,” (“Professor,”), or even “Monsieur le Président de la République,” (“Mr. President,”).

Some special cases:

• “ Maître, ” (“Master,” although we say “Esquire,”) if you’re writing to a lawyer.

• “ Docteur, ” for a doctor.

• “ Mon Général/Colonel/Commandant/etc., ” (“My general, etc.,”—here we might say “Sir,” or just “General,”) for an officer.

Remember to capitalize the formule d’appel and to end it with a comma.

If the person you are writing to is a close friend or family member and the tone of your email is casual, then you might choose one of these greetings to start your informal email:

• “Salut [nom]!” (“Hey/Hello [name]!”)
• “Bonjour” (“Hello”/“Good morning”/“Good afternoon”)

3. Explaining the Purpose of Your Email

After the formule d’appel, state the reason for your email directly:

You get the idea. You’re immediately explaining the purpose of your email. “À la recherche d’un emploi” provides more detailed information about writing letters in French.

4. Giving Your Contact Information

After the main body of the email but before the closing, I usually include a line such as…

“Vous pouvez me joindre au : 555-555-5555”

or

“Vous pouvez me joindre à: mail@mail.com”

(“You can reach me at…”)

…to emphasize that I am available and willing to be contacted, even if this information is already in my header.

5. How to End an Email in French

That’s correct. We begin an email with a formule, and we conclude with one as well! The formule de politesse closes your email with a tone of respect and consideration. This is not the moment for creativity. There is a specific formula to adhere to:

“Je vous prie d’agréer, Madame la Directrice, l’expression de mes sentiments distingués.”

Here, I’m asking the (female) director to accept (not agree with) my “distinguished sentiments.” So essentially it's a request, the recipient + job title, and an expression of respect.

I could also use “Veuillez agréer” (“Please accept”), but that has a more commanding tone. There’s a reason it’s called a formule; its structure is fixed. You can find several good examples here.

So, contrary to what I mentioned earlier, the formule de politesse is one area where French and American emails differ. Obviously, this is not necessary for letters or emails to family or friends, in which case you could simply use any of the following:

• “Je t’embrasse” (“Love”—not a literal translation) ,
• “Bisous” (“Kisses”),
• “Amitiés” (“Best wishes”)
• “À bientôt !” (“See you soon!”)
• “Sincèrement” (“Sincerely”),
• “Cordialement” (“Cordially”) ,

Don’t forget your signature at the end.

Once I realized all my formal French emails would follow the same pattern, I created a template that included space for the header, contact info, formal greeting, and a pre-written formule de politesse. This way, I could just insert new information and modify the main content. You might call that a shortcut, but it saves time!

The Adoption of Email in France

We might assume that technology is inherently Anglophone, and that the French had their own unique practices before computers became widespread. However, France made notable contributions to the development of email.

Minitel

Long before households in the US set up email accounts using AOL diskettes from junk mail, the French had a thriving "internet" known as the Minitel, which included an electronic messaging service.

Minitel, or Médium interactif par numérisation d’information téléphonique (roughly, “interactive medium by digitization of telephone information”—try saying that quickly!), was originally designed as an alternative to paper phone directories but expanded to include news, home shopping, yellow pages, train schedules, banking, dating, and of course messagerie (electronic messaging).

In fact, the ability of Minitel to handle messagerie instantanée (instant messaging) was discovered by accident in the early 1980s. In 1981, a platform called Gretel was launched, offering services like weather, horoscopes, TV guides, and a "letter box," but users weren't proficient in using it, so Gretel created a system to send helpful messages to users.

According to legend, a child discovered the admin password and used Gretel to send his own instant messages. Gretel noticed the popularity of this feature, and the rest is history.

Other services emerged as well, such as theme-based salons de discussion (chat rooms) and the very popular Minitel Rose for singles. See Libération and France24 for more detailed accounts of Minitel’s early days.

Email today: Popular Service Providers in France

The Internet as we know it eventually surpassed Minitel, and France now has several service and webmail providers. Some of the leading email providers in France are Orange (formerly France Télécom), Gmail, Outlook, SFR, and Yahoo. It's safe to say that the French are now enthusiastic email users.

La Nétiquette

The practice of writing politely on the internet in France is referred to as nétiquette.

Although we often learn that business correspondence is very structured in France, we shouldn't assume the French are rigid in all their communications. Yes, I mentioned that formal correspondence is highly valued, but in reality, they are just as busy as anyone else and don't always have the time to write formal letters.

I have often sent professional letters in French, carefully including my contact info, formal greeting, and closing salutation, only to receive informal, one-sentence replies.

Essentially, the key point to remember is this: Avoid doing in a French email what you wouldn't do in an English one. For instance, that might include writing in all capital letters, using slang, etc. Having said that, I recommend following the guidelines discussed above, even if your correspondent doesn't do the same, at least until the conversation becomes more established.

Tutoyer vs. Vouvoyer and Why It’s Important

In France, you address people in the second person using either tu (tutoyer) or vous (vouvoyer). Using tu implies familiarity and informality, whereas vous is more formal. Sometimes it's challenging to know exactly when to use tu or vous; you need to use your judgment. I've been in situations where I used vous only to be told to use tu. Note, however, that the second person plural is always vous.

Although tutoiement (use of tu) is becoming more common in France, in formal emails, it's safest to err on the side of caution and use vous, at least until instructed otherwise, particularly when addressing someone older, a supervisor, or someone you've just met.

These distinctions can be a bit tricky to get used to as a non-native speaker, but you'll pick them up through exposure and practice.

The best approach is to converse with native speakers, either by meeting with French-speaking friends or practicing with a native French tutor. If that isn't feasible for you right now, look for authentic French content online.

For example, you could try using an immersion program like Lingflix, which provides a range of French media with interactive subtitles to help with understanding. Lingflix uses authentic videos—such as music videos, movie trailers, news, and inspiring talks—and transforms them into personalized language learning lessons. You can try Lingflix for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app. P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

More Email and Letter Writing Vocab

Perhaps the greatest advantage of analyzing French emails is acquiring a new set of vocabulary. As in other areas of informatique (IT/computer science), emails represent a battleground where imposed English words compete with homegrown alternatives. By the way, if you haven't already, try setting your webmail or email client to French—you'll absorb all this vocabulary subconsciously!

Technical Email Vocab

General Letter Writing Vocab

Example Emails

Now that you’ve learned how to write an email in French, let’s bring all of your knowledge together in two example emails:

Formal email example:

Informal email example:

Learning the conventions of French email writing is another way to contextualize your French language skills.

Understanding emails gives you practice with technical vocabulary, constructing advanced sentences, and general letter composition.

If you have a French penpal, you can now impress them with your correspondence abilities!