How To Write An Email In French (Beginner-Friendly Guide)

I still remember the first time I tried to write an email in French. I had just arrived in Lyon, my French was passable at best, and I proudly sent a message to my landlord that began with bonjour monsieur /bɔ̃.ʒuʁ məs.jœʁ/ — hello sir… followed immediately by a cheerful “j’espère que tu vas bien” /ʒɛ.spɛʁ kə ty va bjɛ̃/ — hope you’re doing well. Yes, I mixed tu and vous with the elegance of a yak wearing roller skates. His reply was extremely polite, which is French for “you just embarrassed yourself but we can pretend you didn’t.”

Since then, I’ve watched countless foreigners freeze when asked to write a simple email. The greetings feel confusing, the endings feel too formal, and the French love for politeness can make you feel like you’re defusing a diplomatic crisis just to ask about office hours. Let’s make this genuinely easy.

Quick Primer

French emails depend on three things: formality, your relationship with the reader, and the purpose. If you’re writing to a teacher, a company, or an unfamiliar adult, use vous. Friends, classmates, and people your age may use tu. The structure is predictable: greeting, opening line, purpose, details, polite closing phrase, signature.

Greetings And Openings

These are your safe all-purpose openers. I’ve used them everywhere from banks to bakeries, and only once did someone write back correcting my accent marks (a very French form of flirting).

Safe, polite first lines:

Main Section 1: How To State Your Purpose

This is the part where learners often panic. Keep it simple.

Examples:

je voudrais confirmer notre rendez-vous /ʒə vu.dʁɛ kɔ̃.fiʁ.me nɔ.tʁə ʁɑ̃.de.vu/ — I’d like to confirm our appointment
je vous écris pour demander… /ʒə vu.z‿e.kʁi puʁ də.mɑ̃.de/ — I’m writing to ask…
pouvez-vous m’envoyer… ? /pu.ve vu mɑ̃.vwa.je/ — could you send me…?

When in doubt, slow and polite always wins.

Main Section 2: Giving Details Clearly

French emails favor structure. Try brief, direct sentences.

Useful patterns:

Main Section 3: Closings And Sign-Offs

The endings look intimidating but they follow formulas. Here are the most common:

Your signature can be simple:

Usage Notes & Common Mistakes

1. Never mix tu and vous unless you enjoy confusing people or sounding accidentally intimate.
   
2. Accents matter in emails. cote ≠ côté. année ≠ anné. (Yes, someone once emailed me “bonne anné” and I genuinely had to take a walk.)
   
3. French tone leans more polite than English. Even simple requests use softeners like pourriez-vous…
   
4. Avoid starting emails with just bonjour and your message. Always use a line break.
   
5. Don’t end with “amitiés” unless the person is an actual friend.
   

Regional Notes

France French email etiquette is more formal than Canadian French and significantly more than Belgian French. In France, cordialement is universal and safe. In Québec, people happily sign off with à plus, bonne journée, or à la prochaine even in semi-formal settings. Stick with France norms here.

Mini Dialogues

Dialogue 1
je me permets de vous écrire concernant ma réservation.
/ʒə mə pɛʁ.mɛ də vuz‿e.kʁi kɔ̃.sɛʁ.nɑ̃ ma ʁe.zɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃/
I’m writing to you regarding my reservation.

pourriez-vous me confirmer la date ?
/pu.ʁje vu mə kɔ̃.fiʁ.me la dat/
Could you confirm the date?

oui, elle est bien prévue pour lundi.
/wi ɛl ɛ bjɛ̃ pʁe.vy puʁ lœ̃.di/
Yes, it is scheduled for Monday.

Dialogue 2
bonjour madame, je voudrais poser une question rapide.
/bɔ̃.ʒuʁ ma.dam ʒə vu.dʁɛ po.ze yn kɛs.tjɔ̃ ʁa.pid/
Hello madam, I’d like to ask a quick question.

je vous écoute.
/ʒə vuz‿e.kut/
I’m listening.

où puis-je trouver le formulaire ?
/u pɥi ʒə tʁu.ve lə fɔʁ.my.lɛʁ/
Where can I find the form?

Dialogue 3
je vous remercie pour votre message.
/ʒə vu ʁə.mɛʁ.si puʁ vɔ.tʁə me.saʒ/
Thank you for your message.

je vous envoie le document en pièce jointe.
/ʒə vu.z‿ɑ̃.vwa lə dɔ.ky.mɑ̃ ɑ̃ pjɛs ʒwɛ̃t/
I’m sending you the document as an attachment.

parfait, je l’ai bien reçu.
/paʁ.fɛ ʒə le bjɛ̃ ʁə.sy/
Perfect, I received it.

Quick Reference

Five-Minute Practice Plan

1. Write two email openings: one formal, one informal.
   
2. Write a short request using pourriez-vous…
   
3. Add a line with je vous joins… + a fake attachment.
   
4. Finish with two different sign-offs: cordialement and bien à vous.
   
5. Read it aloud using the IPA as your guide.
   

Conclusion

Once you understand these formulas, French emails stop feeling like diplomatic puzzles. You write your greeting, keep your sentences calm and tidy, sprinkle in the magic politeness dust, and suddenly people reply faster and nicer. Consider this your little passport to surviving French inbox culture without sweating through your shirt.