Kind regards, Best regards, etc.

[vatreno]

Hallo alle,

I would like to know how to say:
Kind regards, Best regards, etc.

Would this be appropriate?
Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Basically, I am trying to learn how to best respond in ending an e-mail.

Are there any alternative ways that you would suggest saying this in similar circumstances (both with people you know well, colleagues, work environment etc.). A variety of responses would be appreciated!

Vielen Dank
:Tonko:

 

[Tifoso Bonisolli]

Mit freundlichen Grüßen is the equivalent of Best regards.
Kind regards would literally be Liebe Grüße but the latter is used differently in German: only for people you know rather well (friends and colleagues, roughly). The equivalent of Kind regards, as far as usage (and not literal translation) would be Schönen Gruß/Schöne Grüße (no difference).
Warm regards equates to Herzliche Grüße/Herzlichen Gruß (no difference).
For close friends, you'd probably use more personal variants, like you would in English, for example just "Herzlich, Dein Vatreno" (which is paradoxically more personal than Herzliche Grüße). In Austria, you could write Servus (which basically means either Hello or So long, but is fine for ending an email to a friend - but I think it would be disturbingly unusual for a recipient in Germany or Switzerland).

 

[Hutschi]

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
name
- this is rather formal.
I use it if I write to the tax office (Steuerbüro) or similar institutions.


Freundliche Grüße von name is less formal and I prefer this form usually in informal letters to people who are not friends or relatives.


Analogue to "Servus" you can write "Mach's gut!" in informal letters to a friend, but more standard is "liebe Grüße" or "viele Grüße".

"Viele Grüße" is neutral and you can use it in informal letters of all kinds and even in formal letters.

For me "Freundliche Grüße" sounds like a kind of standard in more formal environments.

"Alles Gute/alles Liebe, Dein/Deine name" is used in letters to friends and relatives, too.
"Alles Gute/alles Liebe, Ihr/Ihre name" is used to persons you address with the "Sie"-form (Höflichkeitsform), especially if you have good relations or are friends without using the "Du"-form. You cannot simply switch between these forms and it is an extra topic, often discussed in the forum.)

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Ihr male name
Ihre female name

is not as formal as without "Ihr". Note uppercase "Ihr".

In any case you should avoid abbreviations like "MfG" - this is often used in some group language but if I read it, I find negative connotation. The writer does not take even the time to write "Mit freundlichen Grüßen".

 

[Derselbe]

All of the statements above are correct. I just want to add two things.

1. Be carefull with those "Ihr Name" clauses. Some people, including me, consider this to be something that should be used by the superior person only. I think you should avoid it when writing an email to someone of higher social rank. You never know how this person will interpret it.

2. "Mit freundlichen Grüßen" is the most neutral and standard phrase in formal or business situations. Everything else is conveying a certain nuance. If you are not sure which one to use, just stick to the standard phrase and wait for the recipient to be the first one to use a variation. If your contact uses "Mit besten Grüßen" you may do so as well. But don't start experiments.

The best phrase may depend on dozends of things like age of the recipient, branch, social status, personal relation etc. General answers without knowing the (personal) background are neither easy to give nor useful, in my opinion.

 

[Robocop]

For me, "mit freundlichen Grüssen" is a fragment only of the outdated phrase "Mit freundlichen Grüssen verbleibe ich Ihr ..." (and its variations), and hence its use does not make sense to me (grammatically). Since long, I prefer "Freundlich grüsst, (comma)" or "Freundliche Grüsse (no comma)".
Alternatively, depending on context:
- Herzlich grüsst,
- Herzliche Grüsse
- Liebe Grüsse

 

[Derselbe]

Ich glaube einfach nicht, dass es sinnvoll ist, Deutschlernenden stark von der Norm abweichende persönliche Vorlieben zu vermitteln. Ob es nun gammatikalisch ist oder wir es schön finden, die Floskel "Mit freundlichen Grüßen," ist die im bundesdeutschen Sprachraum völlig unangefochtene Standardformulierung in Geschäftsbriefen und E-Mails. Jede andere Formulierung ist eine Abweichung, die man bewusst wählt. Diese Wahl kann man als Anfänger einfach nicht zuverlässig treffen, weshalb man sich mit der Formulierung begnügen sollte, mit der man am wenigsten aneckt und für Aufsehen sorgt.

Ich benutze "Mit freundlichen Grüßen" auch eher selten, aber das liegt daran, dass ich einschätzen kann, in welcher Situation und mit welchem Gegenüber ich das machen kann. Ich befürchte, wenn vatreno in seiner nächsten Geschäfts-E-Mail "Freundlich grüßt Ihr X" schreibt, wird das in 95% der Fälle zu starker Verwunderung, Lachanfällen, bis hin zu Verärgerung führen. Je nachdem, wie konservativ der Adressat ist.

Ich plädiere im Sinne eines verantwortungsvollen Umgangs mit dem Threadsteller, dass wir alle unsere persönlichen Meinungen hinanstehen lassen und schlicht "Mit freundlichen Grüßen," empfehlen.

Are there any alternative ways that you would suggest saying this in similar circumstances (both with people you know well, colleagues, work environment etc.). A variety of responses would be appreciated!

For people you know well, I suggest you just say whatever they say.
For colleagues and work environment I suggest you stick with "Mit freundlichen Grüßen".

 

[vatreno]

Hallo alle,

Your points are well taken. I just wanted to get a better understanding in relation to 'Servus' though. Would this be acceptable if you have spoken to a person before (sort of semi-formal...). What circumstances would you not want to use it in?

:Vatreno:

 

[Hutschi]

Hi, the usage of "Servus" depends on the region.
So I would use it only when the other person uses it - as reciprocal answer. If you are in a group and they use it there, you can use it in the same way.

In Sachsen it was not used at the End but at the Beginning - but seldom and under Czech influence (example: Spejbl and Hourvinek - wellknown marionettes). We often used it when meeting friends at the beginning of the conversation, but now it is seldom.

In Austria it seems to be used regularly and at the end. So note what the Austrians say.

 

[HON_Redakteur]

1. Be carefull with those "Ihr Name" clauses. Some people, including me, consider this to be something that should be used by the superior person only. I think you should avoid it when writing an email to someone of higher social rank. You never know how this person will interpret it.

On the use of a possessive pronoun ("Ihr", "Dein" oder "Euer") before one's name at the end of the letter - in contrast to using NO possessive pronoun at all: Would you agree that the use of "Dein" or "Euer" is more intimate than the use of nothing?
Second question: Wouldn't the same apply to the use of "Ihr"? In spite of the distancing effect of the formal form ("Ihr" rather than "Dein" or "Euer"), doesn't the use of "Ihr" suggest greater intimacy than no use?

Regards,

 

[Frank78]

On the use of a possessive pronoun ("Ihr", "Dein" oder "Euer") before one's name at the end of the letter - in contrast to using NO possessive pronoun at all: Would you agree that the use of "Dein" or "Euer" is more intimate than the use of nothing?

I think it´s odd to use a possesive pronoun along with one´s name. I´m noone´s property thus I´ve never used it. It really sounds submissive to my ears.
But you may write someing like "Dein langjähriger Freund XYZ"

 

[HON_Redakteur]

You are, of course, the Native Speaker, so I accept your judgement. However, is this an entirely personal preference of yours? Or is it possible that in you region / sociolect, this form of address would be considered unusual? Because I'm quite sure than in my region (Ba-Wü), it's not at all unusual. My question concerned only the degree of intimacy suggested by the use / non-use of the possessive pronoun.

My general rule of thumb is that I use "Dein / Euer" at the close of all correspondence to family members and male friends, but not with female friends, since to do so would suggest a romantic relationship.
I've never had occasion to use "Ihr" at the end of correspondence (usually opting instead for "MfG"), but if I were to use it, I suspect (but don't know - that's why I was asking) that it would be slightly more intimate or friendly. I'm guessing that it might be appropriate as an "Abgruß" with someone with whom one uses the Hamburger Sie (first name, but "Sie").

Your thoughts?

Regards,

Regards,

 

[Frank78]

How could I tell you about the degree of intimacy if I simply regard it bad style.

I simply use my first name when signing a letter to a friend or "Grüße [name]"
Within family I often read/write "Deine Eltern/Großeltern", etc.

I´ve even encountered people using possesive pronouns in oral speech: "Gehst du heute noch zu deinem Peter?" Really awful.

 

[Hutschi]

On the use of a possessive pronoun ("Ihr", "Dein" oder "Euer") before one's name at the end of the letter - in contrast to using NO possessive pronoun at all: Would you agree that the use of "Dein" or "Euer" is more intimate than the use of nothing?

Regards,

I would agree.
It is not so formal. I usually wrote this way to my relatives and friends.

"Dein Bernd"

Second question: Wouldn't the same apply to the use of "Ihr"? In spite of the distancing effect of the formal form ("Ihr" rather than "Dein" or "Euer"), doesn't the use of "Ihr" suggest greater intimacy than no use?

Regards,

I would agree, too. I would use it, if the other and I are friends but do not use "Du" but "Sie", or if we are working together and have not a very different position in a hierarchy. It is less formal than omitting it.

I´ve even encountered people using possesive pronouns in oral speech: "Gehst du heute noch zu deinem Peter?" Really awful.

This depends on region and age. I heard it often in some southern region (example: Südlicher Thüringer Wald), but never in the north and in Sachsen.

But I never would say: "Hier ist dein Bernd!"

 

[Derselbe]

On the use of a possessive pronoun ("Ihr", "Dein" oder "Euer") before one's name at the end of the letter - in contrast to using NO possessive pronoun at all: Would you agree that the use of "Dein" or "Euer" is more intimate than the use of nothing?

Yes.
Using the familiar forms (Du, Euch etc.) to adress someone doesn't say if you like that person or not. It just means that you are not using polite register. Whether this is due to disrespect or intimacy is not said. If you say "Dein Hon", however, you leave no doubt that you have a good personal relationship with the person you are addressing.

Second question: Wouldn't the same apply to the use of "Ihr"? In spite of the distancing effect of the formal form ("Ihr" rather than "Dein" or "Euer"), doesn't the use of "Ihr" suggest greater intimacy than no use?

It does apply to a certain extent. It conveys the same meaning, namely that you have a good personal relationship with that person. On the other hand, however, it might convey a rather patronizing way of showing favor/goodwill - with all good and bad aspects this may have. That's why I said you should only use it if you are the superior part or if you want to sound like a mentor.
Besides that, unlike English business correspondence German written communication is much more restricted in terms of formal rules. Being too friendly can result in being considered obstrusive and invasive.

 

[Hutschi]

Hi, maybe I misinterpreted "intimacy". I mean fellowship, affection, understanding and closeness, including friendship and/or working together closely.
I would use the less formal register, especially for "Ihr", in case of such a state only.