11 words in one French Sign-off!
“Veuillez agréer, Madame/Monsieur, l’expression de mes sentiments les plus distingués.”
(English: Please accept, Madam/Sir, the expression of my most distinguished regards.)
I felt like royalty after reading it. So much respect packed into one single sentence.
But here’s what’s interesting:
In English, sign-offs are much shorter, and more direct.
We’d usually end an email with something like:
✔️ Best regards
✔️ Kind regards
✔️ Thanks
So, you don’t need to hold your breath before writing a sign-off as it’s the case in French. Just think about the level of formality and the context and pick one!
P.S. For everyday emails in French, though, “Cordialement” is your go-to. It’s polite, professional, and widely accepted for regular business emails.
I’m curious, can you think of a more formal (or longer!) sign-off than this French one (in any language)?
