Guides · Apple Mail
German Business Email Phrases You'll Actually Use
Writing to German-speaking clients, suppliers or colleagues? German business email has a few rules that English doesn't: formal and informal "you", specific greetings, and a lowercase letter after the comma in the greeting. Get these right and you'll come across as professional, even if your German is basic.
Du or Sie?
- Sie (formal) is the default in business, especially with people you don't know, older contacts and traditional industries.
- du (informal) is common in startups, tech, creative work and once someone offers it.
- Rule of thumb: start with Sie. Switch to du when the other person does.
- Be consistent. Don't mix du and Sie in the same email.
Greetings (Anrede)
| German | When to use |
|---|---|
| Sehr geehrte Frau Weber, | Very formal: first contact, official matters |
| Sehr geehrter Herr Schmidt, | Same, for men |
| Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, | When you don't know the name |
| Guten Tag Frau Weber, | Formal but modern, very common |
| Hallo Frau Weber, | Friendly-formal, widely accepted now |
| Hallo Anna, / Liebe Anna, | Informal, with du |
Important: after the comma, the first word of the next line starts lowercase (unless it's a noun or Sie):
Guten Tag Frau Weber,
vielen Dank für Ihre Nachricht.
Openers
| German | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Vielen Dank für Ihre Nachricht. | Thank you for your message. |
| Danke für Ihre schnelle Rückmeldung. | Thanks for your quick reply. |
| Ich melde mich wegen … | I'm writing about … |
| Wie besprochen, sende ich Ihnen … | As discussed, I'm sending you … |
| Kurze Frage zu … | Quick question about … |
Requests
| German | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Könnten Sie mir bitte … schicken? | Could you please send me …? |
| Ich wäre Ihnen dankbar, wenn … | I'd be grateful if … |
| Bitte geben Sie mir bis Freitag Bescheid. | Please let me know by Friday. |
| Passt Ihnen Donnerstag um 10 Uhr? | Does Thursday at 10 work for you? |
Apologies and bad news
| German | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Entschuldigen Sie bitte die späte Antwort. | Sorry for the late reply. |
| Es tut mir leid, dass … | I'm sorry that … |
| Leider können wir … nicht … | Unfortunately, we can't … |
| Gern biete ich Ihnen stattdessen … an. | Instead, I'd be happy to offer you … |
Attachments and next steps
| German | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Im Anhang finden Sie … | Please find attached … |
| Anbei sende ich Ihnen … | Attached I'm sending you … |
| Ich melde mich bis … bei Ihnen. | I'll get back to you by … |
| Bei Fragen melden Sie sich gern. | Feel free to get in touch with any questions. |
Sign-offs (Grußformel)
| German | Tone |
|---|---|
| Mit freundlichen Grüßen | Formal, classic |
| Freundliche Grüße | Formal, slightly lighter |
| Viele Grüße | Neutral, the everyday standard |
| Beste Grüße | Friendly-professional |
| Liebe Grüße / LG | Informal only |
There's no comma after the sign-off in German:
Viele Grüße
Tom Becker
Common mistakes
- Writing "Sie" in lowercase. Formal Sie, Ihnen and Ihr are always capitalised.
- Starting the line after the greeting with a capital letter.
- Mixing du and Sie.
- Using Liebe Grüße with a new business contact.
Replying in German without being fluent
If you get German emails regularly, an assistant can help. LittleDraft works alongside Apple Mail and can translate incoming emails and reply in the language of the conversation, in your own writing style. You type your direction in English, and LittleDraft drafts the German reply for you to review.
With LittleDraft Pro, Private AI writes English and German replies on your Mac with Apple's on-device model. It keeps the conversation's language, checks for wrong-language output and gives German replies an extra polishing pass. Nothing is ever sent automatically.
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