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RSS“Yours faithfully” or “Yours sincerely”?
In 1928 H. W. Fowler listed these phrases and their uses:
Yours faithfully (to unknown person on business)
Yours truly (to slight acquaintance)
Yours very truly (ceremonious but cordial)
Yours sincerely (in invitations and friendly but not intimate letters)
With slight variations between British and American usage, these forms are still in use.
If you don’t know the name of the recipient…
Yours faithfully is British usage. It is used when the recipient is not addressed by name, as in a letter with a “Dear Sir” salutation. I have never seen it in correspondence between Americans. That’s not to say it won’t catch on. I’ve come across letter-writing guides on the web that imply that it is standard American usage.
Yours truly is the American equivalent of “yours faithfully” that I was taught by my American business teachers. When I begin a letter “Dear Sir,” I close it with “Yours truly.”
When you do know the name of the recipient…
Yours sincerely is also British. Americans tend to reverse the order and write Sincerely yours.
When I worked in England, I was told that to write Sincerely without the Yours was very bad form. Now, of course, Sincerely is a common and acceptable close for American business letters.
Which words to capitalize…
Only the first word is capitalized:
Yours faithfully,
Yours sincerely,
Sincerely yours,
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I use Best–is there anything wrong with that style?
Speaking about closing letters, I *hate* the closure:
“Warmly, dot dot dot”
It always makes me think, well Jeepers, how else will they say it?
“Frigidly, dot dot dot”
“I’m really stressed by you but I’ll lie about it and say Warmly, dot dot dot”
etc.etc.etc.
That being said, I do use “Sincerely” when being formal, and “Best wishes” every other time.
I use “Sincerely” to conclude almost all correspondence. Once in awhile I might say “Most sincerely,” but never “Yours [whatever]” for the simple reason that I am not “yours.” You could attribute that to the streak of American egalitarianism in me, or possibly my being a lawyer who sometimes writes to adversaries, but I am my wife’s, or my children’s, but never “yours.”
I’m a 40 year old American, and I was taught:
For business or formal letters-
“Sincerely,” or “Yours truly,”
For personal letters-
“Love,” or “Warm regards,” or “Sincerely yours”
Barbara, you made me laugh!
I use “Best wishes,” but oh, how I long to write, “I remain, your most faithful and humble servant.” (sigh)
Hi. I’m new to your site, but I love it already!
I’ve always thought that “Yours truly”, “Sincerely yours” etc. sound extremely frivolous, forced, and, frankly, ridiculous!
Why? Well, because “I’m yours” is something that we say only to people we’re MADLY IN LOVE WITH in real life!
But alas, the usage in English is overwhelmingly accepted. Who am I to say it sounds too mushy and cutesy for my taste?
Sincerely yours (please refer to my first sentence
), Cesar!
Dee, you caught me in a mental lapse, which may show how infrequently I write actual letters to my family. “Love” is the perfect closing for correspondence to my wife and children. I use “love” all the time in closing [shudder] e-mails to them and a few close cousins.
What would Fowler have made of “Yours very truly and sincerely”?
To me, this shows the arbitrary creation of some “rules” for writing, especially those that seem to have neither grammatical considerations nor agreement between the meaning of the words and the purpose for which they are used.
“I don’t know you. We’ve never met. This is an unsolicited letter trying to get your business. You will probably throw it in the trash. I don’t expect to hear back from you. In spite of this, truly, I am yours.”
I said this in another response somewhere, but the idea of telling someone I am his or hers, when I have never met that person, feels awkward to me.
My pick is still for “Sincerely.” I wouldn’t recommend that a client change the closing line he or she has selected, but I will continue to use “Sincerely” for my own professional correspondences.
I use “Best regards” for email letters and “Sincerely” for cold call business-type letters. I’m with Al G. on letters to family and friends, you show your emotions, “Love” or “Love ya mucho.”
I use “Dear Jane” to someone I know and end with “Yours sincerely”, whether she is dear to me or not, to indicate that she may rely on the emotions I express.
I use “Dear Sir” to someone i do not know and end with “Yours faithfully”, where my faithfulness is to indicate that my words may be relied upon.
With emails, I end with “Regards”, as i want something that i can use every time to anyone as a mark of consistency and to avoid giving offence by reverting to “regards” having used used “warm regards” or similar on a proor occasion.
I use “Dear Jane” to someone I know and end with “Yours sincerely”, whether she is dear to me or not, to indicate that she may rely on the emotions I express.
I use “Dear Sir” to someone I do not know and end with “Yours faithfully”, where my faithfulness is to indicate that my words may be relied upon.
With emails, I end with “Regards”, as I want something that I can use every time to anyone as a mark of consistency and to avoid giving offence by reverting to “regards” having used used “warm regards” or similar on a prior occasion.
what about “I’m your most sincerely” ?