How to Write a Formal Letter in Spanish

In a digital world full of social media and text messages, writing letters might seem dated and passé. But it’s not! In fact, writing letters is just as common today as it was in the past, only nowadays, we generally write them in the form of emails and Word documents. Whether you’re planning to write un correo electronico (an email) to your co-worker, or sending a cover letter to a potential employer, this article shares some quick tips on how to write a formal letter or business email in Spanish and make it stand out.

The Top 4 Tips for Writing a Formal Letter in Spanish

Writing a formal letter in English can sometimes be tricky, and it can be even trickier when you have to write it in another language, like Spanish, French, or Italian. But don't worry—we have outlined 4 main tips below to help you construct and write a solid formal letter in Spanish. Ready? Vámanos!

1. Determine what type of letter you are writing

Before writing a formal letter in Spanish, you need to think about who you are writing to.

If you’ve been studying Spanish for a while, you will recall that there are two different pronouns that are used for the word “you”: “tu” and “usted”.

“Tu” is the informal way to say “you.” Using it indicates that you have a close relationship with the person you are addressing, such as close friends, family members, and others within your social circle. When you use “tu”, the communication is more casual, and the language is, by default, more relaxed.

“Usted” on the other hand, is the formal way to say “you.” It is used to address others who are acquaintances and people who are older than you or are of a higher status.

When writing a formal letter in Spanish, you will always use the pronoun, “usted” as it denotes a level of respect for the recipient.

2. Start with a greeting

Starting a formal letter in Spanish is not much different than starting a formal one in English. Once you’ve considered your audience and have an idea of who you’ll be writing to, you open your letter with a greeting.

There are a variety of greeting options you can use to open your formal letter. Whether you’re writing a resume or business email, it is common to open it with, “Estimado/a”. This greeting functions as a normal Spanish adjective, so make sure the adjective agrees with the gender of the person or people you are writing to. The examples below illustrate this point:

Estimado Sr. Garcia:
(Dear Mr. Garcia,)

Estimada Sra. Hernandez:
(Dear Mrs./Ms. Hernandez,)

Estimada Srta. Navarro:
(Dear Miss. Navarro,)

There may be times when you write a formal letter in Spanish to someone you don’t know the name of, such as when you send a resume or cover letter when applying for a new job. In these instances, you can use the following Spanish greetings:

Estimada señora:
(Dear Madam,)

Estimados señores:
(Dear sirs or sirs/madams,)

Muy señora mía:
(Dear Madam,)

Muy señores míos:
(Dear sirs or sirs/madams,)

A quien corresponda:
(To whom it may concern,)

Lastly, notice how each greeting is followed by a colon instead of a comma? This is normal when writing letters in Spanish. If you were to use a comma, your Spanish letter would begin to look more anglicized. If you want your Spanish letter to stay true to its Spanish form, remember to use a colon.

3. Write the body

Once you’ve opened your Spanish letter with a greeting, you can begin to write the body of it. When constructing the letter, you will need to make sure that the vocabulary and the language you use in general is more professional. As a result, you will need to pay attention to using the correct pronouns, possessive adjectives, and indirect objects. Below are various phrases you can use when writing a formal letter:

Les escribo para informarles…
(I am writing to inform you…)

Adjunto encontrará…
(Enclosed you will find…)

Le agradezco…
(Thank you for…)

Quedo a la espera de sus noticias…
(I look forward to hearing from you…)

4. Sign-off on your letter

At this point, you’ve finally finished writing your letter in Spanish! Now all you need to do is find an appropriate way to end it. Here are a few creative, yet refined options to close a formal Spanish letter:

Saludos cordiales,
(Best regards,)

Atentamente,
(Sincerely,)

Cordialmente,
(Cordially,)

Samples of a Formal Letter and Formal Email in Spanish

Now that we’ve covered the basics, you can begin to write your own formal letters or business emails in Spanish. We’ve included a couple basic examples, a cover letter and a business email, to help give you some ideas so you can get started on writing your own formal letter in Spanish.

1. Sample of a Basic Cover Letter in Spanish

Muy señores míos:

Mi nombre es Marina Martín y estoy interesada en colaborar con ustedes para crear un nuevo plan de estudios para su programa.

Me gradué con un título en educación en el 2011 y durante los ultimos diez años, he trabajado como docente de la educación primaria en la “Escuela Primaria Forest Pine”. Como docente, me he desempeñado principalmente con estudiantes entre las edades de 6 y 11 años, enseñando las materias como matemáticas, ciencia, historia, e inglés.

Aunque disfrutó ser maestra para los niños, me gustaría tener la oportunidad de explorar otras áreas en la educación para expandir mi conjunto de habilidades. Con mi experiencia como docente, considero que he logrado consolidar diversas cualidades que me podrían permitir un gran desempeño alineado a sus expectativas y requerimientos. Yo pienso que puedo ofrecerle una perspectiva desde el punto de vista docente y puedo ayudarle a mejorar y expandir su programa.

Adjunto encontrará una copia de mi currículum vitae. Le agradezco por su consideración. Quedo a la espera de sus respuestas.
Atentamente,

Marina Martín

Translation in English:

Dear Sirs,

My name is Marina Martín and I am interested in collaborating with you to create a new curriculum for your program.

I graduated with a degree in education in 2011 and for the last ten years, I have worked as an elementary education teacher at Forest Pine Elementary School.

As a teacher, I have taught primarily students between the ages 6 to 11 years old, teaching subjects such as math, science, history, and English.

Although I have enjoyed being a teacher for children, I would like the opportunity to explore other areas in education to expand my skill set. With my experience as a teacher, I believe that I have managed to consolidate various qualities that could allow me a great performance aligned with your expectations and requirements. I think that I could offer you a perspective from a teacher’s point of view and I can help you improve and expand your program.

Enclosed you will find a copy of my curriculum vitae. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Marina Martín

2. Sample of a Business Email in Spanish

Estimada Sra. Hernandez:

Gracias por reunirse conmigo hoy para discutir nuestra nueva asociación. Quedo a la espera de trabajar con usted durante las próximas semanas.

Adjunto encontrará el contrato de nuestra asociación y un documento del primer proyecto.

Por favor, hágame saber si tiene alguna pregunta.

Saludos cordiales,

Veronica Duarte

Translation in English:

Dear Mrs. Hernandez,

Thank you for meeting with me today to discuss our new partnership. I look forward to working with you over the next weeks.

Enclosed you will find the contract for our partnership and a document for the first project.

Please, let me know if you have any questions.

Best regards,

Veronica Duarte

Spanish Writing Can be Fun!

Ultimately, remember that writing is one of many outlets that allows you to express your creativity. Writing an email or letter in Spanish, English, or any other language for that matter, doesn't have to be practical, boring, or laborious. It can be fun! As you continue to progress in Spanish, try using different phrases or words in your writing and see what works and what doesn't. If anything, writing formal letters can help build your Spanish vocabulary and strengthen your language skills. And if you need help with building your Spanish vocabulary, read this article how to learn Spanish in only 15 minutes a day. And, of course, if you need any further help in thinking of certain phrases to use in your Spanish letters, a Speechling coach will always be around to help brainstorm with you.

Happy writing!