How To Write A Letter In Spanish: A Simple Guide

These days, not many people need to know how to write a letter in Spanish, at least not in the old handwritten way.

Nonetheless, you’re here now, and so in this post, we’ll are going to give you everything you need to know about writing a letter in Spanish, whether it’s a handwritten letter, sending an informal email or other, we have you covered.

To begin with, we’ll look at the most common words and phrases used when writing an email or letter in Spanish. As with English, the development of a letter will depend on whether you want it to be formal or informal, which you should be clear about from the outset.

Later in this post, we’ll review five examples of different types of letters or emails that are commonly sent.

For now, let’s begin the most common vocabulary related to writing a letter in Spanish.

How To Write A Letter In Spanish: Essential Vocabulary

In the below section, we list the most common vocabulary related to letters, either because you use them when you write, or they are linked to the postal world

English equivalent	Spanish word
Letter	Carta
Email	Correo electrónico / Mail
Sender	Remitente
Address	Destinatario
ZIP code – Post Code	Código postal
Envelope	Sobre
Attached file	Archivo adjunto
PS – Postscript	PD – Postdata
To send	Enviar
To deliver	Entregar
To receive	Recibir
Junk mail	Correo basura
Registered lettered	Carta certificada
Stamp	Estampillas
PO box	Casilla de correo
Postman	Cartero
Signature	Firma
Post office	Oficina postal

How To Write A Letter In Spanish: Formal Letters

There are many reasons why you may need to send a formal letter at some point in the future.

It could be for a job application, to ask for information, to send a complaint, a suggestion, a thank you, or even a formal invitation for an event. Perhaps it’s due to not knowing the person who is receiving the letter.

In this section, we’ll cover the most common vocabulary used with formal letters, including the all-important greetings and goodbyes.

Sidenote: When writing a formal letter in Spanish, you will always use the “usted” form instead of “tú”, due to the formal nature of the communication. By consequence, we always use possessive adjective “su”.

Spanish Vocabulary For Formal Greetings

English	Spanish
Dear Sir	Estimado señor
Dear Madam	Estimada señora
To whom it may concern	A quien pueda interesar
Dears Sirs (plural)	Estimados señores
Dear madams (plural)	Estimadas señoras

Spanish Vocabulary For Formal Goodbyes

English equivalent	Spanish sentence
I appreciate your help	Les agradezco su ayuda
Looking forward to your comments	En espera de sus comentarios
Looking forward to a quick response	En espera de una pronta respuesta
Yours sincerely	Les saluda atentamente
Please get in contact with me as soon as possible	Por favor, pónganse en contacto conmigo lo mas pronto posible
Best regards	Saludos cordiales
I am on hand for any questions	Quedo a la orden para cualquier duda
I look forward to your opinion	Quedo a la espera de su opinión
Cordially	Cordialmente
Sincerely	Atentamente

Spanish Vocabulary For Informal Letters

Here, you’ll find the most commonly used vocabulary for informal letters or emails that you would send to a friend, family member, or even an acquaintance.

Informal Greetings

English	Spanish
Dear (masculine)	Querido
Dear (feminine)	Querida
Dear ones (masculine)	Queridos
Dear ones (feminine)	Queridas
Beloved (masculine)	Amado
Beloved (feminine)	Amada

Informal Goodbyes

English	Spanish
Greetings	Saludos
With love	Con cariño / amor
Write to me soon	Escríbeme pronto
Hoping to see you soon	Esperando vernos pronto
Kisses and hugs (XoXo)	Besos y abrazos
Big hug	Un fuerte abrazo

How To Write A Letter In Spanish: Introducing A Topic

In addition to knowing how to start and end a letter, it’s important to know some phrases for introducing ideas and developing the body of your letter.

Here are some common ways to do this.

Formal letters

English	Spanish
First of all receive a warm greeting	Ante todo reciba un cordial saludo
I inform you through this mail / this letter	Le/les informo mediante este mail / esta carta
Through this letter, I would like to let you know…	A través de esta carta me gustaría hacerle/les saber…
The purpose of this letter…	La presente carta tiene por motivo…
Through this, I would like to formalize my…	Por medio de la presente quisiera formalizar mi…

Informal letters

English	Spanish
I am writing to tell you	Te escribo para contarte
I want to invite you to	Quiero invitarte a
I would love to have your presence in	Me encantaría contar con tu presencia en
I haven’t heard about you in a long time	Hace tiempo que no se de ti, por eso te escribo

How To Write a Cover Letter In Spanish

There’s a good chance that you’re reading this blog post in order to learn how to write a cover letter in Spanish, be it for a future job application, a scholarship, or other.

While this post won’t go into a ton of detail on the subject, we’re going to list the most common vocabulary and verbs that you are likely to use in a Spanish cover letter.

English	Spanish	English	Spanish
To build or to construct	Construir	To make good use of something	Aprovechar
To elaborate	Elaborar	To enhance	Potenciar
To create	Crear	To foment	Fomentar
To implement	Implementar	To lead	Dirigir
To innovate	Innovar	To coordinate	Coordinar
To establish	Establecer	To execute	Ejecutar
To develop	Desarrollar	To lead	Liderar
To Improve	Mejorar	To manage	Gestionar
Make progress	Avanzar	To organize	Organizar
To perfect or to Improve	Perfeccionar	To motivate	Motivar
Restructure	Reestructurar	To select	Seleccionar
Reinforce	Reforzar	To reduce	Reducir
To update	Actualizar	To increase	Incrementar
To guide	Guiar	To consolidate	Consolidar
To promote	Promover	To produce	Producir
To overcome	Superar	To grant	Conceder

How To Write A Letter In Spanish: Sample letters

By now, you should know a ton of vocabulary that can be used in a formal or informal letter.

In the next section, we are going to give you examples of five different letters that you may want to write in the future.

We’ve included an English translation for each example so that you can see the differences between both.

(as sometimes happens when translating directly from Spanish to English, some of the phrases or words below may sound a bit clunky)

1) Cover Letter For A Job Interview

Spanish version:

John Doe

Calle 142

Telf: 78609411

Mail: [email protected]

Hotel Cortez

A quien pueda interesar

Estimados señores Hotel Cortez,

Atendiendo al llamado que hicieron por distintos portales web, para el puesto de Gerente del departamento de Front Desk, quiero hacerles llegar mi interés de postularme para este cargo.

Como notarán tengo amplios estudios y conocimientos en el área de hotelería, hospedaje y servicio. Además, he potenciado mis conocimientos de manejo de personal,  aplicando mis conocimientos en terapias alternativas a los distintos equipos de trabajo que he tenido a mi cargo, ofreciéndoles técnicas de meditación y mindfulness, obteniendo un gran logro en su desempeño, y esto ha reducido sus niveles de ansiedad y ha fomentado la calma en momentos de tensión, que sabemos suelen ocurrir en el áre de hotelería.

Creo que mis valores y conocimientos están de la mano con su compañía, y lograremos reforzar y promover un excelente equipo de trabajo, que se traduce en una gran experiencia para todos los clientes.

Esperando saber de ustedes, quedo dispuesta a concederles una entrevista para ampliar cualquier otra información que requieran.

Saludos cordiales,

John

English version:

John Doe

Calle 142

Tel: 78609411

Mail: [email protected]

Hotel Cortez

To whom it may concern

Dear Sirs Hotel Cortéz,

In response to the call made by different web portals, for the position of Manager of the Front Desk department, I want to express my interest to apply for this position.

As you will notice I have extensive studies and knowledge in the area of ​​hospitality, lodging and service. Additionally, I have strengthened my knowledge of personnel management, applying my knowledge in alternative therapies to the different teams that I have managed, offering them meditation and mindfulness techniques, obtaining a great improvement in their performance, and this has reduced their levels of anxiety and encouraged calm in times of stress, which we know often occur in the area of ​​hospitality.

I believe that my values ​​and knowledge go hand in hand with your company, and we will be able to reinforce and promote an excellent work team, which translates into a great experience for all clients.

Hoping to hear from you, I am available for an interview to expand on any other information you require.

Best regards,

John

2) Cover Letter For An Internship

Spanish version:

Jane Doe

Calle 142

Telf: 78609411

Mail: [email protected]

Hotel Cortez

A quien pueda interesar

Estimados señores Hotel Cortez,

Soy estudiante del penúltimo año de Hotelería en la Universidad Nacional de Hospitalidad, y quiero mostrarles mi interés en formar parte de su compañía a través de un contrato de prácticas.

Como saben, la escuela pide 400 horas de práctica profesional en empresas especializadas en el área de estudios del alumno, para optar por el título profesional.

Podrán ver que una de mis mayores fortalezas está en el área de alimentos y bebidas, ya que he participado en diferentes entrenamientos y estudios paralelos, que me han llevado a innovar nuevas formas de ofrecer el servicio y experiencia del cliente, y estoy segura que el Hotel Cortez sabrá sacar el máximo provecho, cuando vea el aumento de experiencias positivas que sus clientes experimentarán.

Me encuentro en alta disposición para conversar con ustedes más ampliamente. Espero su llamado para una entrevista y conocernos mejor.

Atentamente,

Jane

English version:

Jane Doe

Calle 142

Tel: 78609411

Mail: [email protected]

Hotel Cortez

To whom it may concern

Dear Sirs Hotel Cortéz,

I am a student in the penultimate year of hospitality at the National University of Hospitality, and I want to express to you my interest in becoming part of your company through an internship contract.

As you know, the school asks for 400 hours of professional practice in companies specialized in the area of student studies, to opt for the professional degree.

You can see that one of my greatest strengths is in the food and beverage area, since I have participated in different trainings and parallel studies, which have led me to innovate new ways of offering the customer’s service and experience, and I am sure that the Hotel Cortez will know how to make the most of it, when you see the increase of positive experiences that your clients will experience.

I am in a high position to talk with you more widely. I await your call for an interview and get to know each other better.

Yours sincerely,

Jane

3) A Complaint Letter

Spanish version:

Estimados Señores de Renta Autos C.A

La presente carta tiene por motivo, hacerles saber mi desagrado en cuanto al servicio prestado por ustedes. El auto que rentamos no fue el acordado, y además están cobrando a mi tarjeta de crédito un monto que no le pertenece al auto que me entregaron.

Esperando una pronta respuesta,

Atentamente,

Juan

English equivalent:

Dear Sirs of Renta Autos C.A

The purpose of this letter is to let you know my displeasure regarding the service provided by you. The car we rented was not the one agreed upon, and you are also charging my credit card with an amount that doesn’t belong to the car that was delivered to me.

Waiting for a quick response,

Sincerely,

Juan

4) Thank you letter

Spanish version:

Amada familia,

He recibido los regalos que me han enviado. ¡Un millón de gracias por tan lindo detalle!

Espero que pronto volvamos a vernos.

Reciban todo mi amor y un fuerte abrazo,

Besos,

Daniela

English equivalent:

Beloved family,

I have received the gifts that you sent me. Thanks a million for such a nice detail!

I hope we’ll see each other again soon.

Sending all my love and a big hug.

Kisses,

Daniela

5) General Business Letter

Spanish version:

Estimado Señor Torres,

Por medio de la presente quisiera formalizar mi ingreso a su prestigiosa empresa, como asesor de marketing. Me ha encantado su propuesta y no puedo declinarla. Anexo encontrará un archivo adjunto con todo lo que me ha solicitado.

Quedo a la orden para cualquier duda.

Le saluda atentamente,

David

English equivalent:

Dear Mr. Torres,

Through this letter, I would like to formalize my entry to your prestigious company, as a marketing consultant. I loved your proposal and I cannot decline it.

You’ll find an attachment with everything you have requested.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Yours sincerely,

David

____________

Comment below and let us know if you’d like to see more examples of formal or informal letters or emails in Spanish.