How does one respectfully sign off semi-formal (e.g. business) emails without going for the full blown “Veuillez agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments distingués.” etc.?
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See also: french.stackexchange.com/questions/757/… – Stéphane Gimenez Nov 19 '12 at 17:25
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In business or university context, I tend to use:
Cordialement,
Moreover, if I am thankful and want to convey this stronger feeling, I use:
Bien cordialement,
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I would complete by saying "Bien cordialement", is generally reservated for more formal discussions. (Student, teacher...) – Zenklys Aug 17 '11 at 21:16
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1To add on Zenlys comment: when the student writes to the teacher, he can write "Bien cordialement à vous". It formal and respectful, but not too much. – Sylvain Peyronnet Aug 17 '11 at 22:20
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I often use the adverb for cordial:
Cordialement,
<Here my email signature>
For an “almost friend but not really friend”, I use something similar to kindly:
Amicalement,
<Here my email signature>
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I often use:
Bien à vous
or:
Bien à toi
which is closer to Yours truly I guess.
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I personally use Bien à vous too when I write an email in French – user22 Aug 17 '11 at 21:06
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I find bien à toi disturbingly direct at the same time as formal. I'd reserve it to very close people, if to use it at all. – Nikana Reklawyks Nov 19 '12 at 18:36
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In short e-mail exchanges with a business contact you know more personally, you can also use "Bàv" or "Bàt", which are abbreviations for "bien à vous" et "bien à toi". – Greg Sep 13 '17 at 16:22
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Taking the first few mails in my inbox, we have:
Bonne journée,
Bonne fin de semaine,
Cordialement,
Quite often, nothing.
But mostly, as this is the one included in the official company signature:
Meilleures salutations,
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