How to Write a Letter in Spanish

Writing a letter to your official located in any of the Spanish-speaking countries can be a tricky task if you are unaware of Spanish letter writing style. Unlike English style where a business letter is often short and crisp, Spanish writing style lays emphasis on minute details including salutations, accents as well as opening and closing sentences.

Unless you follow the right style, there are chances that your letter is misinterpreted and is discarded by the recipient, thus defeating the very purpose of the letter. To ensure your letter is free from such communication problems, here are some guidelines that will help you:

Guidelines

1. To write a Spanish letter you must take into considerations certain elements that your letter should contain. Following are elements which you must focus on while writing the letter:

Name and address of the addressee

• Date
• Greeting
• Introduction
• Body information
• Closing remarks
• Your signature
• Your return address

2. Firstly, state the logo or Company name and address in the letter. The logo should be placed either at the top most centre or right or left of the letter.
3. Just below the sender’s address, add the telephone number and contact details. Make sure to mention the full international code so that the receiver does need to look out for it. State your fax or e-mail address below the telephone number.

4. Now write the date. It is usually written top right and below the contact details. There are several forms possible but the most preferred is 5 de mayo de 2009 or 5 de mayo 2009. Unlike English style that follows month/date/year format, Spanish style follows date/month/year format (5/5/2009). If the logo in the letter does not state the city, then it is preferably added to the date line: Spain, 23 de abril de 2009.
5. While writing a formal letter in Spanish, take a note that if the name is known, it may be inserted in the recipient field and the header should show Muy señor(for males) and Señora (for females).
6. A proper opening greeting is very important. The most common opening for an official letter can be something like Señor, Señora, Estimado señor, Estimada señora, Estimados señores. For more formal greetings, Distinguido señor, Distinguida señora, Distinguidos señores, Muy señor mío, Muy señores míos can be used. Whichever term you use, make sure you put a colon after that term.
7. The introduction of the letter should start with introducing yourself so that the receiver instantly recognizes you.
8. Now add body or subject (cuerpo o tema) to your letter. It is the place where convey your message or purpose of the letter. It is always recommended that you begin the body part with the most important points. It is always better to consider five C’s of letter writing that include Clarity (clara), Correct (correcta), Concise, (concisa), Complete (completa) and Courteous (cortés).
9. Now end the letter with a proper closing format. The closing style of Spanish letter varies from that of English letters. While English commercial letters have closing phrases like ‘yours faithfully’, ‘yours sincerely’ or ‘yours truly’, Spanish closing remarks are usually longer and flowery. The closing may include something like Aprovecho la ocasión para saludarlo atentamente, or Esperando sus gratas órdenes, or any other phrase as per your choice.
10. Use terms like”Don” and “Doña” while addressing the envelope. However, make sure that you use these terms only when the forename is written in full. Otherwise, prefer using “Sr. C H Alvarez” or “Sra. M E González”.

See also

How to Write Business Letters

How to Format a Letter

How to Write a Job Application Letter

How to Write an Application Letter