How to write a formal letter in Spanish
Whether you’re looking for a job in a Spanish-speaking country or already have one, writing formal letters in Spanish is a task that every businessperson has to tackle at one point or another. I used to have a hard time with anything formal because my work has mostly been on the creative side of things. I can’t even wear a tie without feeling like I’m being strangled by a very weak yet determined man! However, I had to learn how to be formal if I wanted to advance in my career. Some people prefer formalities, others don’t really mind, but having this skill is important if you want to sound serious about what you’re doing and convince others of the quality work you’re showing. So today I’ll give you formal words and phrases so that you can write those important letters without worry!
Titles and job descriptions
People in Latin America’s business world take titles very seriously. Some might even get offended if you don’t address them properly! So before you find out if they’d rather be called by their first name it’s always a good idea to call them by their title. Here’s a list of the most common titles, greetings, and relevant job descriptions:
- Lic.: Short for Licenciado. This title is given to people who have graduated from college in most of Latin America and Spain. Licenciaturas are different than an undergraduate degree, though. They last longer (about 4-6 years) and they stand between undergraduate and graduate school in terms of information given. This one is commonly used for lawyers too.
- Dr.: You can probably figure this one out. Doctores are highly regarded in most if not all of the globe, and they tend to be proud of their title – with good reason. Becoming a doctor sure is difficult!
- Sr./Sra.: Short for Señor y Señora. These are used for formal events like weddings, graduations, religious ceremonies, etc.; however, they also work for business if you don’t know the recipient’s specific title. Their English counterparts are Mr. and Mrs.
- Srta.: Short for Señorita. Much like its English counterpart Miss, this applies to unmarried women. It’s kind of old fashioned if you ask me, but it’s still widely used in Latin America. Fun fact: we do have a neutral word to address women in Spanish – Seño! This applies to all women, but it’s very informal and not suitable for a letter.
- Ing.: Short for Ingeniero. Engineering jobs are highly esteemed in Latin America, and while you can call them Sr. or Sra., it’s respectful to call them Ing. instead.
- Prof.: Short for Profesor. This refers to college professors and it’s useful to know if you’re going to be working in a university abroad.
Additionally, when addressing someone on the envelope of the letter, remember to add the word presente after the title and name, since this is how we usually address someone in formal letters. A made-up example would be: Dr. Raúl Morataya, presente.
Greetings and Salutations
English is a language that has beauty in its simplicity. Instead of having three different formality levels, there’s only ‘you,’ and instead of having lots of ways to greet someone in a letter or email, there’s simply ‘Dear,’ which is simpler if you ask me.
- Estimado: In Spanish, there are two levels of formality when writing a letter: Querido / Estimado. These translate literally to Loved / Esteemed, but they serve the same function as the English ‘Dear.’ Querido is informal while Estimado is formal.
- A quien interese: Translates to ‘to whom it may concern’.
- Al departamento de: Translates to ‘to the department of:’ (and you put the type of department afterward – marketing, accountability, etc.).
Now that you’ve properly addressed the recipient, it’s time to say hi! These are some ways to greet someone in a formal letter:
- Reciba usted un cordial saludo: ‘I give you a warm greeting’
- Espero se encuentre gozando de buena salud: ‘I hope you’re in good health’
- Espero esta carta le encuentre bien: ‘I hope this letter finds you well’
- Mediante la presente, quisiéramos comunicarle que: ‘Through this medium we’d like to tell you’
- El motivo de la carta es: ‘The purpose of this letter is’
- Por la presente, quisiéramos hacerle llegar nuestra invitación: ‘Through this medium, we’d like to extend our invitation’
- Quisiera solicitar el puesto de: ‘I would like to apply for the job of’
- Le escribo para consultar acerca de: ‘I am writing to inquire about’
- Lamento informarle: ‘I regret to inform you that’
- Estamos felices de informarle: ‘We’re pleased to inform you that’
Farewell and sign off
Now that you’ve successfully expressed yourself, it’s time to say goodbye. These are some useful phrases to end a formal letter
- Atentamente: ‘Sincerely’
- Le agradezco de antemano: ‘Thank you in advance’
- Cordialmente: ‘Cordially’
- Se despide, Atentamente: ‘I take my leave, sincerely’
- Un cordial saludo: ‘Cordial greetings’
- Cuento con usted, atentamente: ‘I count on you, sincerely’
- Quedo a la espera de su respuesta: ‘I await your response’
- Sin otro particular, se despide atentamente: ‘Without further ado, sincere farewell’
You may have noticed the word Atentamente shows up quite a lot. While it’s letter-writing parallel is ‘Sincerely’, its literal translation means ‘attentively.’ Both words have the same use in a letter but carry different meanings, so keep that in mind!
Example letter
Here’s an example letter to guide you through the motions of writing a letter:
Estimado Ing. Pérez,
Espero se encuentre gozando de buena salud. Mediante la presente, quiero comunicarle mi agradecimiento por dar de su tiempo para reunirse con la junta directiva la semana antepasada. Estamos felices de informarle que su propuesta de asesoría al personal mantenimiento de maquinaria pesada nos ha parecido de interés, por lo que cordialmente lo invitamos a la planta para negociar los honorarios que recibirá en caso desee aceptar trabajar con nosotros.
Un cordial saludo,
Ing. Ramos
And here’s the example translated:
Dear Mr. Pérez,
I hope you’re in good health. Through this letter I would like to thank you for your time spent at the meeting with the board two weeks ago. We’re glad to inform you that your proposal regarding the consulting services you offered to provide to our heavy machinery maintenance personnel seems to be of interest to us. We cordially invite you to our central plant to negotiate the payment you’ll receive in case you choose to accept working with us.
Best regards,
Mr. Ramos
And there you have it! This info will help you show Spanish speakers you mean business. If you want to blow your Spanish-speaking clients away, why not take a free class at Homeschool Spanish Academy to drastically improve your language skills?
You’re Never Too Old to Learn Another Language
We have all heard that if you don’t learn a second or third language when you’re young, then it’s too late. I’m here to tell you that’s not true!
The latest research from Brown University has debunked the theory that older people cannot learn new things as easily as younger people. These studies have found that adults can retain information too, they just do it in a different part of the brain.
Everyone has brain plasticity – this is the capacity of the brain to develop and change throughout life. Increased plasticity occurs through learning, new memories, and experiences. Younger people experience plasticity (growth) of white matter in the cortex part of the brain, and older people experience plasticity of white matter in the visual field.
Bottom line: plasticity doesn’t decline with age, it just changes.
Another study by Stanford and York University professors tried to determine the best time for people to learn a foreign language. They studied Spanish and Chinese native-speakers who were learning English as a foreign language and wanted to determine what the cutoff age is for introducing a foreign language. Researchers have debated the cutoff age for decades…is the best time to begin learning a foreign language at age five, six, 12 or 15? The study here used age 15 and 20 as the age by which a language should be introduced, and they evaluated what happened if language was introduced beyond age 20.
The results showed that achieving native-like proficiency does decline with age, but the amount of decrease and the age that the decline begins to occur is up for debate. Further, to predict how well someone will learn a foreign language depends heavily on the number of years of formal education received, socioeconomic status and resources.
Research just doesn’t have a definitive answer yet.
However, there is enough evidence that age is not an excuse to shy away from learning a new language.
Scientists are discovering new things about the brain every day, so these findings are not conclusive by any means. It is simply more information to encourage us to keep learning, regardless of the number of birthday candles on our cake.
Let’s take a look at what to do next:
Unlock Cognitive Benefits
To keep up brain flexibility (plasticity) you will want to keep your mind challenged; this will maintain current brain cells, create new pathways, and stimulate communication in the brain. An active mind helps with memory retention, multitasking, and can even help fight off early cognitive decline.
Some ideas of new things you can do are: take music lessons – vocal or instrumental, design a new garden bed – cut flowers or edibles, teach or take an art class, join a book club, volunteer for a local community project, or learn a new language.
The Key to Learning a New Language is Motivation, Not Age
Youngsters can learn another language only to fall short and never use their skills, thus forgetting what they initially grasped. Sometimes children are forced to speak another language –to communicate with family members, translate for parents, or early pressure from parents to have a competitive advantage — and these kids don’t have the interest to continue using it when they grow up.
If an adult wants to learn another language, then interest will motivate them to put forth the effort and time to speed up the process and absorb as much as they can.
If you are motivated to communicate cross-culturally and speak another language then you can do it!
Adults Learn Vocabulary Faster than Children
Some aspects of language become easier as you mature.
While children can pick up accents and mimic sounds quicker than adults, adults have a better understanding of proper language structure and richer vocabulary, and therefore can retain advanced words faster and easier than kids.
For example, a child might say in Spanish, “fui a la granja/ I went to the farm.” They are communicating that they went to the farm and getting the point across to the listener in direct and child-like simplicity. However, an adult may want to explain more, as adults tend to do, and say “Fui a la granja de lavanda en la península y vi vistas hermosas de las montañas/ I went to a lavender farm on the peninsula, and saw beautiful views of the mountains.”
New words can be traced back to your pre-existing knowledge and understanding of phrases or descriptions, and this helps you retain words quickly!
By Now You Have Learned How To Learn
You no longer rely on others to help you carve out homework time. As you get older, your motivation comes from within and you choose what skills you want to spend your time on. You also know what kind of learner you are and simply what works, and what doesn’t.
This increased self-awareness will help you cut to the chase and learn Spanish! Spanish Academy guarantees that you will be speaking Spanish in your first lesson, ¡vamanos!
Spanish Academy Helps Adult Learners
As discussed above, adults learn best in the visual field part of their brain. Spanish Academy will help you grasp Spanish by targeting this visual learning style. We have a different approach to teaching language than standard textbooks and classrooms – we offer immersion-style classes that use a lot of visuals.
Our blog on immersion discusses how teachers and programs that teach “immersion-style” use a variety of visuals: “this includes gestures, modeling, real-life objects to help illustrate a theme or situation, and lots of pictures or videos. Another is open-ended questions that encourage conversation as opposed to inquiries that only garner a basic “yes” or “no.”
Our one-on-one or two-on-one online classes will give you facetime with your teacher and they can use visual prompts and handouts to help you better grasp the new language material.
Learn a New Skill Today
Try our free class and begin expanding your horizons – and brain plasticity- today!
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