Have you ever wondered if you should write “Dear Joe,” or “Dear Joe:” at the start of an email or letter? The difference between the comma and the colon might seem insignificant, but it actually reflects the level of formality in your message. Today’s post explains how to punctuate salutations in emails and letters so you can begin all your correspondence with the desired level of business professionalism or casual coolness. (Don’t worry—you can be professional and cool at the same time.)
Formal Salutations
Salutations (or greetings) in formal letters and emails are followed by a colon:1
Dear Mr. Periwinkle:
Please accept my resignation from my position as lead bank teller. I am leaving to pursue my career as a trapeze artist.
To Whom It May Concern:
I have attached my application for stamp collector of the year.
Informal Salutations with Adjectives
There is a common misconception that commas should never be used after salutations. That’s just not true. Commas can be used after informal salutations that include an adjective such as “Dear.”2 The trick is that you have to decide if your message is formal or informal. Letters and emails to family are pretty much always informal; however, the level of formality in business letters and emails will depend on your work environment and your personal relationship with the recipient:
Dear Mom and Dad,
Thank you for the birthday gift! I really love my new bagpipes and intend to play them at every family gathering from here on out!
Dear Sam,
I look forward to seeing you at tomorrow’s sales meeting. Let’s grab a cup of coffee afterward, okay?
Informal Salutations with Interjections
Realistically, most of us will use an interjection such as “Hi” or “Hello” instead of “Dear” when inviting a coworker for coffee. In this situation, a comma follows the interjection and a period or exclamation point follows the recipient’s name:
Good morning, Sam.
Hello, Sam.
Hi, Sam!
Casual Salutations between Friends and Family
Let’s be honest: the comma and period format can look too fussy for messages to family and friends. Even the online Q&A section for The Chicago Manual of Style conceded that efficiency trumps formality in casual communication; so don’t worry too much about starting that next email to your grandparents with “Hi Grandma and Grandpa,” rather than “Hi, Grandma and Grandpa.”
After you write your salutation and your email or letter message, you may want to jump over to “How to Close Emails and Letters, Part 1” and “How to Close Emails and Letters, Part 2.”
Update: CMOS Shop Talk, the official blog of The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), published a post stating that Chicago’s punctuation rules don’t apply to email salutations. While I am glad that Chicago addressed this issue, until the issue is included in the print manual itself, I strongly caution against using nontraditional punctuation in a formal email salutation; after all, the recipient of the formal email may think that your nontraditional punctuation is a typo or think that you are a punctuation renegade (which may not be the persona you want to present in a formal email).
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1. Bryan A. Garner, Garner’s Modern English Usage, 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), 748; The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 6.66.
2. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 6.53.
Prosenjit Sarkar says
March 30, 2015 at 12:18 amHi Erin
Want to better understand, if the saluation used above is correct.
Thanks & regards
Prosenjit Sarkar
Erin Wright says
March 30, 2015 at 9:47 amHello, Prosenjit.
Thank you for visiting my blog! Technically, the salutation would be “Hi, Erin.” (with a comma after Hi and a period after Erin). However, in casual situations “Hi Erin,” (with a comma after Erin) will work just fine.
Erin
ZC says
August 6, 2015 at 11:25 amHi Erin
I was told that by a proficient technical writer that given there is a space. The comma after the name, it is in fact a common ‘mistake’.
I thought this was interesting.
ZC
Erin Wright says
August 6, 2015 at 3:29 pmHello, ZC.
Yes, I agree that the space after the salutation can cause confusion. Thank you for stopping by to read my blog!
Erin
Lani says
September 20, 2015 at 4:16 pmHi Erin,
So is the line space after the salutation (before the first paragraph) correct? Or is it the writer’s choice? I personally like to see the space. If you space after the last paragraph, why wouldn’t you space before the first one?
Erin Wright says
September 20, 2015 at 4:40 pmHello, Lani.
Thank you for stopping by! That is a very good question. In formal letters and emails, I would use a line space below the salutation to parallel the line space above the complementary closing. In casual letters and email, I believe the extra line space is discretionary.
Erin
Barrie Vermeulen. says
June 7, 2016 at 4:43 amHi Erin
I can not find the method to insert punctuation marks like the symbols used above letters for example the ^ above an e.
Please help.
Greatings.
Barrie.
Erin Wright says
June 7, 2016 at 10:00 amBarrie, thank you for visiting my site. If you are using Microsoft Word, the easiest way to insert those types of marks is to go to Insert > Symbols > More Symbols, and then select the Symbols tab in the Symbols dialog box. You can then scroll through the options until you find the marks you need. I hope that helps!
Barrie Vermeulen. says
June 8, 2016 at 4:46 amSorry Erin, I meant when you are composing an e-male message in the sent-box. Apparently the only way is to write it in word and attach it to your e-mail. I was hoping there is a better way. Thank you for your grand site.
Greetings.
Barrie
Erin Wright says
June 8, 2016 at 7:51 amHi, Barrie. I think you might be able to use Unicode characters in some email programs, but I don’t have any experience doing that. Cutting and pasting from Word may be the easiest option. Good luck—and please let me know if you do find a solution other than cutting and pasting!
Barrie Vermeulen. says
June 8, 2016 at 11:31 amHi Erin. Yes I worked it out and as you say: By writing it in word and then copy and paste.
Ajit Desai says
November 16, 2016 at 12:03 amHi Erin
“Best Regards”
Is this ending ok for the professinal mail.
Erin Wright says
November 16, 2016 at 7:48 amHello, Ajit. Thank you for reading my blog! Yes, best regards is a nice professional closing. Consider lowercasing “regards” and then follow it with a comma, like this:
Best regards,
Ajit
If you would like other options, I have a list of additional formal closings in my blog post “Email and Letter Closings, Part 1” at https://erinwrightwriting.com/close-emails-letters-part-1/.
Ajit Desai says
November 16, 2016 at 9:28 pmThanks Erin for your support.
Best regards,
Ajit
Pam says
January 12, 2017 at 7:57 pmWhat should be capitalized in this greeting:
To my school family
Erin Wright says
January 13, 2017 at 7:21 amHi, Pam. In formal communication, salutations are capitalized, so it should appear as “To My School Family” followed by a colon. However, if you are writing an informal email or letter, I think “To my school family” followed by a comma is just fine.
Thank you for reading my blog!
Sharon Colon says
July 11, 2017 at 3:55 pmHi Erin,
Many times in business writing I’ve seen (Hi Sharon-) I just don’t find it professional or courteous. Would love to hear your thought?
Thanks,
Sharon
Erin Wright says
July 12, 2017 at 12:28 pmHi, Sharon.
Thank you for your comment! I haven’t noticed that format yet. While I agree it doesn’t look very professional, I doubt people are intentionally trying to be discourteous. Rather, they probably saw someone else do it and then decided to do it themselves—so it is becoming a salutation trend. Who knows what other trends we will see as more and more of our business communication moves to text messaging!
Erin
Shawn Robetyd says
July 19, 2017 at 9:29 amWhat is proper when addressing the Office Team? Is it, Good afternoon Team, 9comma) OR, is it, Good afternoon Team. (period).
Thank you
Shawn Roberts says
July 19, 2017 at 9:33 amCorrection: Shawn Roberts. Correction: (comma)
Erin Wright says
July 20, 2017 at 3:44 pmHi, Shawn. I would use a comma after the greeting and a period after the word team:
Good afternoon, Team.
I hope that helps!
Erin
Joe says
September 21, 2017 at 2:56 pmHi, Erin.
I have followed your instructions in this comment regarding the above salutation. However, you are the only source I have come across stating that this salutation would end in a period rather than another comma (e.g. Hi, Erin, …) if this salutation were an opening to a letter/email.
Can you explain this further or provide me with a direct source that states this, please?
Thank you,
Joe
P.S. Is my above comma before please correct?
Erin Wright says
September 21, 2017 at 3:29 pmHello, Joe.
Yes, your comma is correct! Check out the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, section 6.53 for an explanation of punctuation with direct addresses (e.g., Hello, Hi). According to Chicago (which is our primary guide for most formal writing), you can use a comma after a direct address, but only if the direct address is run in with a sentence rather than an actual salutation, which is separate from the first sentence of the letter or email.
So, you could write:
Hi, Bob, let’s go for coffee.
Or, you could write the direct address as a salutation:
Hi, Bob.
Let’s go for coffee.
I hope that helps!
Erin
Terry Hocking says
November 23, 2017 at 6:13 amWhat does the hyphen mean in an email. E.g.; Terry –
There is than a space line, our double spaced, before the body of the message begins
Erin Wright says
November 24, 2017 at 7:00 amHello, Terry. That’s a good question. I think the hyphen sometimes seen after an email recipient’s name is just an informal salutation. I’ve also noticed email senders using a hyphen before their name in the closing. Both uses should be considered informal–at least in my formal opinion, ha!
Terry Hocking says
November 24, 2017 at 7:10 amThank you ma’am!
José says
March 8, 2018 at 7:15 amHello! In Spanish (my mother language), it would make sense to write “Hello, John:”, using first a coma and then a colon. Would you say that this is not wrong in English but rather awkward?
Thanks!
Erin Wright says
March 8, 2018 at 4:40 pmHi, José. Thank you for reading my blog! In English, the colon is normally reserved for formal salutations rather than casual salutations that start with “Hello” or “Hi.” Therefore, I would suggest writing “Hello, John.” with a period instead of the colon.
Kris Vqa says
April 3, 2018 at 12:57 pmHi Erin,
I’ve noticed emails where a “hyphen” is used after the greeting (ex. Hi Kris – ). I’m not aware of what the dash/hyphen indicates? I know the usage of comma (Hi Kris, ) or a colon (Hi Kris: ) but not a hyphen.
thanks,
Krishna.
Erin Wright says
April 4, 2018 at 6:57 amHi, Krishna.
I have recently noticed dashes in greetings, also. I think people are using them in greetings because, like commas and colons, dashes create a pause for the reader. But, dashes in greetings are still unconventional, so I would avoid using them in formal correspondence.
Thank you for reading my blog!
Erin
Krishna says
April 4, 2018 at 7:57 pmThank You Erin!
Marti says
April 12, 2018 at 3:28 pmErin,
What is your recommendation on commas when addressing several people in one email that you are not close to personally? I.e.-
“Good afternoon, Katie, Linda, William, and Kristina,”
Is that the proper way to address them?
Thank you!
Marti
Erin Wright says
April 12, 2018 at 3:52 pmHi, Marti.
Thank you for stopping by! Yes, listing each name is the proper way. However, in a formal situation, I would use a period instead of a comma after the final name:
Good afternoon, Katie, Linda, William, and Kristina.
I hope that helps!
Erin
Terry Hocking says
April 14, 2018 at 6:14 amErin, How do you feel about adding (Et al) to a greeting in a business email. E.g.; Mike, (Et al)
Erin Wright says
April 14, 2018 at 7:13 amHi, Terry.
Nice to hear from you again! Personally, I would avoid using et al. in a greeting because the people included in the et al. might feel slighted. Instead, consider using a collective noun like “team” or “department” to represent the unnamed recipients:
Hello, Sales Team.
Dear Mike and Widget Department,
Joe says
May 9, 2018 at 12:17 pmHello, Erin. How do i punctuate a salutation e.g ‘ Good Evening’ in the beginning of a formal e-mail?
Erin Wright says
May 9, 2018 at 3:39 pmHi, Joe.
Use a comma after “Good evening” and a period after the recipient’s name:
Good evening, Joe.
Thank you for stopping by my blog!
Joe says
May 17, 2018 at 12:27 pmThanks a lot Erin.
igor says
June 6, 2018 at 2:47 pmErin,
At the end of the email, can I put my name in the same line as “Thanks,” as below or does my name have to be after in a different line.
Thanks, Igor
Erin Wright says
June 6, 2018 at 3:11 pmHi, Igor.
Thank you for reading my blog! In less formal emails, I think putting your name on the same line as “Thanks” is just fine. If you’re writing a really formal business email, you’ll probably want to stick with the traditional format of placing your name on its own line.
Erin
Pat says
August 29, 2018 at 2:52 pmHi, Erin.
I am curious about one word salutations; greetings, colleagues, etc. Thoughts?
Erin Wright says
August 29, 2018 at 4:13 pmHi, Pat.
I think one word salutations may seem terse in formal situations; so, I would personally avoid them in business correspondence. However, they may be fine in certain casual situations.
Thank you for reading my blog!
David Beard says
October 30, 2018 at 4:39 pmWhich of these would be correct: 1. Good Afternoon, Mr. Smith: 2. Good Afternoon, Mr. Smith, 3. Good afternoon, Mr. Smith. or 4. Good afternoon, Mr. Smith, as a formal salutation to someone you have never met?
Erin Wright says
October 30, 2018 at 5:44 pmHi, David. Thank you for reading my blog! I would use the following format for a formal salutation:
Good afternoon, Mr. Smith.
I hope that helps!
Erin
Charlie says
November 7, 2018 at 9:37 amHi, Erin.
Is there a grammar rule that applies to the subject line greeting for an email response to a website user interaction? For example, if a company, having a name that rhymed with “Hello”, wanted to reply to confirm receipt of a website newsletter sign up, but did not have the user’s name, which of the following subject line greetings would you recommend:
Hello, from Companello
Hello, from Companello!
Hello, from Companello.
“Hello”, from Companello
“Hello”, from Companello!
“Hello”, from Companello.
“Hello!”, from Companello
“Hello!”, from Companello!
“Hello!”, from Companello.
As a separate issue, I would like your recommendation on ending business emails that contain scientific analysis and trade-off study results. It seems appropriate to end informally, with a toast, to acknowledge the reader’s perseverance. I typically use a dash prefix and a separate line before my name. I have received different variations of the ending in response.
Cheers!
-Charlie
Cheers!,
Charlie
-Cheers,
Charlie
Cheers,
Charlie
Cheers!
Erin Wright says
November 8, 2018 at 5:46 pmHi, Charlie.
Thank you for reading my blog! There aren’t any grammar rules specifically for subject lines; however, I suggest:
Hello from Companello [No period because it is acting as a heading rather than a sentence.]
For your closing, I suggest:
Cheers,
Charlie
I don’t recommend using the dash in front of your name with a closing.
Kumar Balan says
November 14, 2018 at 10:03 amErin, thank you for taking the time to publish this piece. I found it quite informative.
Could you kindly offer your comments on the following:
Thank you, Erin for publishing this article. Does this statement require a comma after ‘Thank you’?
Erin Wright says
November 14, 2018 at 10:43 amHi, Kumar.
Thank you for reading my blog. The statement you asked about does require a comma after “Thank you” and after my name:
“Thank you, Erin, for […]”
If my name wasn’t in the statement, you would no longer need the comma:
“Thank you for […]”
I hope that helps!
Jan Sargent says
March 10, 2019 at 9:20 amIn an informal letter, what would be the proper way to say, Hi. How are you?
Hi, how are you? Hi; how are you?
Erin Wright says
March 10, 2019 at 5:55 pmHi, Jan. Thank you for reading my blog. In an informal letter, I think “Hi, how are you?” looks the most natural. If you want to be a bit more formal, include the person’s name so the word hi becomes part of a direct address: “Hi, Bob. How are you?”
Bhoomika says
March 29, 2019 at 3:16 amHello ,Erin. I appreciate your guidance n explanation. Hello, Erin, Good morning, Erin/Good morning, Erin. It is clear that Good morning, Erin. is a correct usage. It means, that is a complete sentence, isn’t it? One more point for ur guidance –Can full point be used after Good morning without placing person after it? Would u pleaze guide me? Thank u.
Erin Wright says
April 7, 2019 at 8:12 amHi, thank you for reading my post! Yes, you can use a period after “Good Morning.” It’s not technically a complete sentence (it’s basically shorthand for “I hope you are having a good morning.”) but still requires punctuation.