A salutation is a greeting

Greeting

Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other...

 used in a letter or other written communication, such as an email

Email

Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

. Salutations can be formal or informal. The most common form of salutation in a letter is Dear followed by the recipient's given name or title

Title

A title is a prefix or suffix added to someone's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...

. For each style of salutation there is an accompanying style of complimentary close, known as valediction

Valediction

A valediction , or complimentary close in American English, is an expression used to say farewell, especially a word or phrase used to end a letter or message, or the act of saying parting words- whether brief, or extensive.For the greetings counterpart to valediction, see salutation.Alternatively,...

.

English

The salutation "Dear" in combination with a name or a title is by far the most commonly used salutation in both British and American English, in both formal and informal correspondence. It is commonly followed by either by an honorific and a surname, such as "Dear Mr. Smith", or by a given name, such as "Dear John". However, it is not common in English to use both a title of address and a person's given name: "Dear Mr. John Smith" would normally not be a correct form. A comma follows the salutation, while a colon is used in place of a comma only in American business correspondence. This rule applies regardless of the level of formality of the correspondence.

If the name of the intended recipient is unknown, the most often acceptable salutations are:

Dear Sir or Madam: (If the reader is most likely a male or the sex of the reader is entirely unknown.)

Dear Madam or Sir: (If the reader is most likely female.)

To Whom It May Concern: (If the writer wishes to exclude the sex of the reader from the salutation and/or to convey that the reader should forward the copy to one more suited to receive or respond appropriately.)

"Gentlemen", commonly used in the past, is today often thought inappropriate unless one is certain one is addressing a group that is entirely male.

In older British usage and current American usage, abbreviations "Mr.", "Mrs.", and "Dr." are typically followed by a period (full stop

Full stop

A full stop is the punctuation mark commonly placed at the end of sentences. In American English, the term used for this punctuation is period. In the 21st century, it is often also called a dot by young people...

), as is "Ms." even though it is not really an abbreviation, but it is common in recent British usage to drop the period after all such titles. Professional titles such as "Professor" or "Doctor" are frequently used both in business and in social correspondence. Dignitaries and holders of certain public offices are sometimes addressed by their titles, e.g. "Dear Lord Mayor", although in American practice the office is commonly prefixed by "Mr." or "Madam", as in "Dear Mr. President", or "Dear Madam Secretary".

"Miss" is generally reserved for unmarried women. "Ms." is for cases in which the marital status is either unknown to the writer or is irrelevant. For example, if you are writing a business letter to submit a bid to a female purchasing agent, "Ms." is entirely appropriate. "Mrs." is reserved for married women, and usually only those who have taken their husband's last name. In older conventions, "Miss" is always for unmarried women and "Mrs." is for married women. "Ms.", in such cases, is not used.

Messrs. or Messieurs is a term used to address many men rather than "Mr Pink, Mr White, et al." Messrs is the abbreviation for messieurs and is used in English.

Similarly, Mesdames is a term to address many women or a mixture of married and unmarried women. It is pronounced "medam".

On occasion, one may use "Sir" or "Madam" by itself as the salutation. The severe and old-fashioned formality of such a salutation makes it appropriate for very formal correspondence (for example, addressing a head of state, or a letter to the editor), but in the same way the formality and stiffness of such a salutation would make its use in friendly social correspondence inappropriate.

Standard salutation

The standard French salutation uses the normal style of address to the recipient of the letter, followed by a comma:

Monsieur, for a man

Mademoiselle, for a single woman

Madame, for a married woman or a single woman of very high rank, or age

When writing to a woman without knowing whether she is married or not, the writer should use Madame, unless the woman is very young (less than 16 or 18). When writing to an elderly single woman, it is also preferable to use Madame, unless one knows that the person insists on being called Mademoiselle.

According to a traditional custom which still followed by some people nowadays, when writing to a female artist (actress, singer, etc.), one should use Mademoiselle, regardless of the marital status and age of the person.

When not knowing the gender of the person to whom one is writing, the appropriate salutation is

Madame, Monsieur,

In the case where the writer knows well the recipient and is in friendly term with them, it is possible to add Cher/Chère in front of the address:

Cher Monsieur,

Chère Mademoiselle, (though this is not considered as appropriate for a male writer who is not a close family relative of the recipient)

Chère Madame,

An address using Chère/Cher and a title (Madame/Monsieur/Docteur) should normally not be followed by a person's name; the address Cher Monsieur Dupuis is thus usually considered incorrect.

In case the writer and the recipients are close friends or intimates, it is possible to use the given name of the recipient immediately after Cher/Chère.

In case they are family related, they may used their family link preceded by Cher/Chère. This is almost compulsory if the writer is a younger member of the family (child to parent, nephew to uncle/aunt, grandchild to grandparent, godchild to godparent) and left to the discretion of the writer in other cases.

Note that in French, the abbreviation for Monsieur is M. – the English "Mr." is not used.

Specific salutations

If the recipient holds a specific title, it must be inserted after the Monsieur/Madame:

Monsieur/Madame le Président, ("Mr./Madam President)

Monsieur/Madame l'Ambassadeur, ("Mr./Madam Ambassador)

Monsieur/Madame le Chancelier, ("Mr./Madam Chancellor)

Monsieur/Madame le (Premier) Ministre, ("Mr./Madam (Prime) Minister)

Monsieur/Madame le Directeur, ("Mr./Madam Director)

Monsieur/Madame le Professeur, ("Mr./Madam Professor)

In this case, one should always use Madame, and never Mademoiselle. Note also that in Québécois usage, many titles will be rendered in the feminine, contrary to practice in France (i.e. Madame la Présidente, Madame la Professeure, Madame la Directrice.)

In some cases, the wife of a dignitary may be entitled to a special address:

Madame l'Ambassadrice, (for the wife of an ambassador)

Madame la Générale, (for the wife of a general officer)

Madame la Colonelle, (for the wife of a colonel)

If the recipient is a doctor

Doctor (title)

Doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre . It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread...

, it is possible to use Docteur, or, more formally, Monsieur/Madame le Docteur, or, more casually, Cher Docteur, as salutation.
This is often done for doctors of medicine. For other doctors, it is not common, even if the use is increasing, following the Anglo-Saxon custom. Basically one has to be consistent with the address: a letter sent to "Dr N. N." will use a salutation formula including Docteur, whereas a letter sent to "M./Mme N. N." will not.

If the recipient is a lawyer, notar (or various other legal positions), the proper salutation will be Maître ("Master").
The same salutation is used for famous writers, painters, and for members of the Académie française

Académie française

L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...

.

For some specific professions (lawyers, physicians, for instance), two persons exercising the same such profession will always use Cher Confrère".

The address may vary when writing to dignitaries. For instance, one will use:

• for monarchs and members of their families or high nobility:
  • for a king/queen: Sire, / Madame,
  • for a sovereign prince/princess, a sovereign duke/duchess, a prince/princess of royal blood, a pretendent to a throne, etc. : Monseigneur, ("Mylord") / Madame,
  • for a non sovereign prince or a French Duke: Prince, / Princesse,
• for catholic or orthodox clerics:
  • for the Pope
    Pope
    The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
    
    : Très Saint Père, humblement prosterné aux pieds de Votre Sainteté et implorant la faveur de la bénédiction apostolique, ("Most Holy Father, humbly bowing down before the feet of Your Holiness and begging for the favour of the apostolic benediction,")
  • for the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople: Très Saint Père, ("Most Holy Father")
  • Monsieur le Cardinal, or less formally Éminence, (formerly (Illustrissime et) Éminentissime Seigneur, "(Most Illustrious and) Most Eminent Lord", now disused) for a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
  • for a papal nunzio, Monseigneur, in private correspondence, and Monsieur le Nonce, for official uses
  • for a catholic prelate or a catholic or orthodox bishop, archbishop or patriarch: Monseigneur, ("Mylord"). For bishops/archbishops/patriarchs it is possible to be more formal and write Monseigneur l'Évèque / l'Archevêque / le Patriarche,
  • for the superior of a catholic or orthodox religious order: Mon Très Révérend Père or Révérendissime Père / Ma Très Révérende Mère or Révérendissime Mère ("Most Reverend Father/Mother"). Various specific salutations exist for some orders.
  • for a catholic or orthodox parish priest / archpriest / priest: Mon Père or Monsieur le Curé / l'Archiprêtre / l'Abbé
  • for a monk: Mon Père ("My Father") or Mon Frère ("My Brother"), depending on the order
  • for a nun: Ma Mère ("My Mother") or Ma Sœur ("My Sister"), depending on the order

if the writer knows well the priest/monk/nun recipient, it is possible to use (Très) Cher Père, (Très) Cher Frère, (Très) Chère Mère, (Très) Chère Sœur,: "(Most) Dear Father/Brother/Mother/Sister".

• for members of the army:
  • for a navy general officer: Amiral,
  • for a male general officer (except navy): a male writer will use Mon Général, and a female writer Général,
  • for a female general officer (except navy): Général,
  • for a navy superior officer: Commandant
  • for a male superior officer (except navy): a male writer will use Mon Colonel / Mon Commandant, and a female writer Colonel / Commandant according to the rank of the officer,
  • for a female superior officer (except navy): Colonel / Commandant according to the rank of the officer,
  • for other members of the army: Monsieur / Madame.

German

German has two types of general salutations that are mutually distinguishable from one another - a formal and an informal form.

The formal form usually begins with Sehr geehrte(r) (lit. very honored) and the formal social title (and, if necessary, professional title) of the recipient together with surname is always used (e.g. Sehr geehrter Herr Schmidt, Sehr geehrte Frau Meier). Sehr geehrte(r) is never used with forenames alone, although, rare as it is, it is possible to include the full name (e.g. Sehr geehrter Herr Johann Schmidt). With an unknown recipient, Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren is used with no variation on this.

Informal salutations in German tend to begin with Liebe(r), "dear", (e.g. Lieber Paul, Liebe Annette)

Specific salutations appear in German very similar to the way they do in English, with the exception that in the address block of a letter German must include all or multiple salutations that can be abbreviated Herr Dr. Schmidt, or Herr Prof. Dr. Lamotke. While in the opening of a letter the direct salutation is reduced to only the most important title and not abbreviated Sehr geehrter Herr Doktor Schmidt, or Sehr geehrter Herr Professor Lamotke. The same applies to female variants Frau Prof. Dr. Lamotke, and Sehr geehrte Frau Professor Lamotke.

Further details in the German Wikipedia article :de:Anrede

Standard salutation

The standard Italian salutation uses the normal style of address to the recipient of the letter, followed by a comma:

Egregio Signore for a man (o Signor if followed by the surname).

Gentile Signorina for a single woman but it is seldom used in current italian.

Gentile Signora for a married woman or a single woman (once it was used also for a single woman of high rank or age)

Specific salutations

If the recipient holds a specific title:

Signor/Signora Presidente ("Mr./Mrs. President; sometimes the alternative feminine form Presidentessa can be used)

Egregio Dottor(e)/Gentile Dottoressa for anyone holding an university degree and professional journalists (Dottor if followed by surname)

Egregio Professor(e)/Gentile Professoressa for high-school teachers, university junior professors, and professional orchestra performers

Chiarissimo Professore/Chiarissima Professoressa for university senior professors

Magnifico Rettore/Magnifica Rettrice for university rectors

Maestro/Maestra for orchestra directors, choir directors and soloists

Turkish

In Turkish there are two ways of salutations, formal and informal. Like most other languages, i.e. as in English, gender doesn't play a role in the salutation. When you want to address somebody in a letter etc. in a formal way like "Dear Name" you can say "Sayın Name". In this formal way you don't need to specify her/his gender. If you want to say "Dear Mr./Mrs. Name" you just have to say "Sayın Name". But if you know the title of who you concern with, it is better to specify it without name like "Sayın Doktor".

In formal salutation if you don't know the name who you concerning with, you would say "Sayın Yetkili" is something like "Dear Sir/Madam", does not have a gender pointing.

In informal way you would say "Sevgili Name", it has almost the same meaning with "Dear Name" but it just can be used for a person who is close to you.

Sinhalese

In position of the English "Dear" are the words "Poojya", "Aadarneeya", or "Priya" (from most formal to most informal), for social writing (e.g., relatives/friends). They would not usually be used for business writing. The second may be used in some instances, for example if writing to a teacher.

Formal ways of salutation include "Sri

Sri

Sri , also transliterated as Shri or Shree or shre is a word of Sanskrit origin, used in the Indian subcontinent as polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, or as a title of veneration for deities .-Etymology:Sri has the root meaning of radiance, or...

", "Sriman

Sriman

Sriman means one who has Sri, i.e., the virtues or presence of beauty , or whom Goddess Laxmi has not deserted.* Sriman is another name of Vishnu or God and appears as 22nd, 178th and the 220th names in the Vishnu sahasranama....

", "Srimati", "Chiranjeev", "Chiranjeevi Saubhagyavathi" and "Kumari". Of these,
"Shri" and "Shrimaan" are used to respectfully address married (or presumed married) men. "Shrimati" (Abbr: "Smt.") is used for married women.

Hindi

"Chiranjeevi" is used to address boys and unmarried young men (Abbr: "Chi"). "Saubhagyavati" (Abbr: "Sau") is used to address married young women. "Saubhagyabhilashi" (Abbr: "Sau") is a formal salutation for a young woman of marriageable age. "Kumari" (Abbr: "Ku") is also used to address unmarried young women, and girls. "Kumar" can be used to address boys.

In the end of names "jee" or "ji" is also added to give respect to the addressed person, both for males and females. There are also many other respectful suffixes with regional use, such as "Babu", "Lala" for men, "Devi", "Bai" for women.

There are other ancient systems (not in use any more) of salutations including references to Hindu Goddess Lakshmi when respectfully addressing married women and references to Ganga when addressing widows. One aspect still in use in some communities is attaching "Devi" to the end of a woman's name in a salutation or greeting.

Telugu

Various forms of salutation in Telugu are as follows: "Sri / Shri" ( శ్రీ ) is used to address men, "Srimathi / Shrimathi" ( శ్రీమతి ) is reserved for married woman. Unmarried girls are usually addressed as "Kumari" ( కుమారి ). In addressing a person in letter, usually in case of elders, "Poojyulaina" (పూజ్యులైన / పూజ్యనీయులైన) is often used although "Ganga Bhagirathi Samanulaina" ( గంగా భాఘీరతి సమానులైన )is used for female elders. When addressing a person who is younger, "Chiranjeevi" ( చిరంజీవి ) is commonly used irrespective of all genders. "Kumari" ( కుమారి ) is sometimes used for unmarried women and "Chiranjeevi Lakshmi Sowbhagyavathi ( చిరంజీవి లక్ష్మీ సౌభాగ్యవతి ) , Chi. La. Sow. ( ఛి. ల. సౌ. ) in short for married women

In addition, a suffix "garu" ( గారు ) is added as a respect or to address an elderly person irrespective of gender.

Example:

శ్రీ నరసింహ రాజు గారు, (Mr. Narasimharaju,)

పూజ్యనీయులైన నాన్నగారికి, (Respectful Father,)

కుమారి వందన, (Miss Vandana)

శ్రీమతి సుబ్బలక్ష్మి గారికి, (Mrs. Subbalakshmi)

గంగా భాఘీరతి సమానులైన శ్రీమతి సూర్య కుమారి గారికి, (Mrs. Suryakumari)

చిరంజీవి గౌతం సాగర్, (Little Master Gowtham Sagar)

చిరంజీవి శ్రీజన్య, (Little Miss Sreejanya,)



చిరంజీవి లక్ష్మీ సౌభాగ్యవతి చందన కు, (Mrs. Chandana,)

ఛి. ల. సౌ. చందన కు, (Mrs. Chandana,)

Russian

In correspondence and during conversations, Russian speakers use the word "Уважаемый"/"Уважаемая" (according to gender) as a salutation, followed by the given name and patronymic

Patronymic

A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...

. Salutations to unknown parties usually include an honorific like "Гражданин", "Господин" or "Товарищ" ("Гражданка", "Госпожа", or "Товарищ" being the feminine

Grammatical gender

Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...

counterparts).
It is possible to use "Молодой человек" or "Девушка" in less formal conversations.

Catalan

In catalan, there are many types of salutations:
Informal salutaions

• Hola (+ nom),
• Estimat / Estimat (+ name or title),
• Benvolgut / Benvolguda (+ name or title),
• Hola noi! / nano! / noia! / nena!
• Ei guapo / guapa, com anem? / com va?
• Ep, (+ name or title), com va això?

Formal salutions

• Benvolgut / Benvolguda (with or without name or title),
• Benvolgut/da, et fem arribar les novetats de...
• Benvolguts,
• Senyor/a,
• Benvolgut senyor / Benvolguda senyora (+ firstname),
• Benvolguts senyors,
• Estimats amics,
• Estimat senyor / Estimada senyora (+ firstname),
• Apreciat / Apreciada / Apreciats (client / clients, soci / socis, companys, etc.),
• Distingit senyor, / Distingida senyora, (very formal)
• Excel·lentíssim senyor, / Excel·lentíssima senyora, (usually reserved for certain formal procedures)
• Honorable Senyor/a..., (reserved for certain formal procedures for government officials, etc...)
• Molt honorable senyor / senyora, (reserved for certain formal procedures for government officials, etc..)