How to write formal Japanese emails・正式な日本語のメールの書き方
The nonprofit I work for recently gave all us interns a really informative talk on the protocol for writing profession emails in Japanese, so I thought I’d share what I learned with you guys! Just so you know, I’ll be using some advanced vocab (including 敬語) in this post and pretty much won’t gloss any kanji. So if you’re feeling up to it, then let’s go! 行きましょう！
Subject line
For some reason our presenter did this one last, but I’m going to put it at the beginning. As in English subject lines, be plain and mention the specific purpose of your email. I have temporarily lost SO many work emails due to inane or repeat subject lines. Include your last name in the subject line if you think it’s necessary. Here’s a sample subject line for an internship application:
インターンシップ申し込み（XX大学・［名字・名前*］）
Here’s one for the nonprofit I work for:
【［非営利団体］】トピック３：コロナウイルス（11月9日開始）
Please don’t ask what I do here…it’s semi-ridiculous. (And I don’t even get paid.)
*If you have a Western name where your given name comes before your family name, it’s more up to you which order you put them in and which one you use in general, especially if you don’t know if your Japanese recipient will be able to recognize which is which (or if you’re like me and your last name is nigh unpronounceable in kana). You might want to think about this on a case-by-case basis.
Addressing the recipient
Usually the first thing you do in an English email is greet who you’re talking to. This is the same in Japanese. Here’s a basic template:
株式会社ABC XX部 ［名字・名前］様
First, you name the company* your addressee works for; second, the department; and third, their full name, accompanied by 様（さま）, not さん!
*Be careful here: not all companies are 株式会社. Basically, the first line is for their workplace. If you’re a university student like me, you might be emailing someone who works for ABC大学.
Introducing yourself
Next, you should say who you are. The format for this varies on whether you are telling them who you are or reminding them, i.e., if this is your first time emailing them or not. Here’s an introduction template for a university student:
初めてメールをお送りいたします。ABC大学XX学部YY学科*の［名字・名前］と申します。
With a first email, you state that it’s the first email and introduce yourself using 申す to be extra polite. You also state your university (if they don’t work for it already, presumably), your major, and 学科* if necessary. If you’re a double major like me, you can write XX学部 twice in a row.
Here’s a template for a second email:
いつもお世話になっております。ABC大学／XX学部の［名字］です。
Basically, you thank them for talking with you again and briefly reintroduce yourself, depending on if your university or your major is more relevant. No need to use 申す.
*I’ll be honest: I don’t really know what a 学科 is or how it differs from 楽部／専攻／専門. Our presenter called it a “sub-major.” No clue what that means. Concentration, maybe? Tread carefully, my friends.
Email body
Just as in English emails, Japanese emails should be simply written and get to the point as immediately as possible. That’s more basic email etiquette than anything—after all, does anyone really want to be reading emails?
You should also use 敬語 in the email body if you can. Pick whether to use 尊敬語 or 謙譲語 and then stick with your choice for the entire email. I gotta say, I have no idea how to decide which one to use! 敬語 is so hard! Do your best!!!
(Also, here’s a 敬語 Quizlet I made a while ago!)
Here are some useful phrases to include in your email body:
XXを添付しておりますので、ご確認お願いいたします。 = I have attached XX for you to check.
ご質問などございましたら、遠慮なくお申し付けください。 = If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
ご不明な点などございましたら、お気軽にご連絡ください。 = If anything is unclear, please feel free to contact me.
クッション言葉 (cushion phrases)
In classic Japanese fashion, クッション言葉 are phrases used to soften requests, questions, apologies…basically all manner of inconvenience or imposition. These can get pretty long, which seems to go against the general rule of concision in emails, but in Japanese these are very important. Use them in your email body.
Asking for help, making a request:
恐れ入りますが… (note: 入 here is pronounced い)
お手数おかけいたしますが…
ご迷惑おかけいたしますが…
Asking a question:
少々お尋ねしたいことがあります。
Making an apology:
誠に／大変申し訳ございませんが…
There are probably lots more of these to be discovered. Maybe someday a Japanese person will write YOU an embarrassingly polite email!
Closing
Ah, conclusions—the worst part of any piece of writing. Luckily, we have more templates. This is another case where the format varies depending on whether you’ve emailed this person before. Here’s the template for a first email:
お忙しいところ、お手数おかけいたしますが、何卒、よろしくお願い申し上げます。
Probably the most commas I’ve ever seen used in one Japanese sentence. This is all 謙譲語.
Here’s a template for if you’ve emailed them before:
今後とも／引き続きよろしくお願いいたします。
Basically, you have to thank them for their continued support/tolerance of you.
Signature
And here we have just what we did for the addressee at the beginning, but now for you, the sender.
［名字・名前］ ABC大学XX楽部XX学科* 携帯番号：XXX メール：YYY@
Optionally, you can also link any webpage you might have (like LinkedIn) or include your home, school, or business address. I’m not totally clear on what the protocol is surrounding your cell phone number, since in the US at least I would never give that out in an email signature, but you can probably delete it or easily replace it with a work number.
*Again, substitute your place of work if necessary.
お疲れ様でした！
Yikes, that was a lot of content at once, especially since most of it is just canned phrases to memorize or keep on hand. I hope this will help you guys in all your scary email-writing endeavors!! またこの次までね！
It's very useful. Thank you so much for sharing with us. 🤗👍