正式邮件 — Professional Email in Chinese

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to write a professional Chinese email from greeting to sign-off, use the appropriate levels of formality for different recipients, and deploy key email phrases for common workplace scenarios (requesting information, following up, declining politely).

Introduction

Professional email (正式邮件 zhèngshì yóujiàn) in Chinese has its own etiquette that sits between the highly ceremonial business letter and casual WeChat. Most workplace communication in China now happens by email (especially with external contacts) or WeChat (internal teams). Getting the register right matters: too casual with a senior colleague reads as disrespectful; too stiff with a close colleague seems cold. This lesson maps the conventions so you can calibrate correctly.

Email Structure Overview

Section	Purpose	Key phrase
主题行 (zhǔtí háng)	Subject line	Brief, specific: "关于X的咨询"
称呼 (chēnghū)	Salutation	尊敬的X/您好/Hi [name]
开头 (kāitóu)	Opening pleasantry	您好！/ 希望您一切安好。
正文 (zhèngwén)	Core message	State purpose, give context, make request
结尾 (jiéwěi)	Closing	期待您的回复。/ 感谢您的时间。
落款 (luòkuǎn)	Sign-off	此致 / 顺祝 + full name + title + contact

Salutation Register Levels

Relationship	Salutation	When to use
Senior/client, first contact	尊敬的[Name/Title]：	Formal; external partners, professors
Colleague, known contact	您好，[Name]！	Standard workplace email
Close colleague	Hi [name], / [name]你好	Internal, team-level
Unknown recipient	您好！/ 敬启者：	When name is unknown

Key Phrase Toolkit by Function

Stating purpose

• 特此邮件就…事宜向您咨询。(Tèci yóujiàn jiù…shìyí xiàng nín zīxún.) — "I am writing to inquire about the matter of…"
• 现将…相关情况汇报如下。(Xiàn jiāng…xiāngguān qíngkuàng huìbào rúxià.) — "I am now reporting the relevant situation regarding…"
• 请问您是否方便…？(Qǐngwèn nín shìfǒu fāngbiàn…?) — "May I ask if it is convenient for you to…?"

Making requests