How to Write a Japanese Letter

Although in modern times we rarely have the opportunity to write letters, you might want to send a heartfelt letter to someone you know, or perhaps you simply enjoy the process of writing.

As with many aspects, writing a letter shows differences between languages. We will give you an example of a correctly written letter, and then explain all the parts, what they mean, and what they are used for. Once you know how to write a letter in Japanese, you can also apply some of this knowledge to writing emails, which is not too different.

Components of a Letter

Generally, a Japanese letter has ten components you need to be aware of, which can be divided into 4 sections.

Opening

The opening part of a letter is called 前文(ぜんぶん) (zenbun), and is comprised of three components.

The name of the addressee (surname; given name) is followed by 様(さま) (sama) to show respect.

For the opening greeting a lot of different words can be used, depending on the type of letter and who you are writing to. The most commonly used greeting, which we recommend you start out with, is 拝啓(はいけい) (haikei), which can be translated as "Dear (so and so)." You can check all other possible options here.

After the opening greeting we have the seasonal greeting, which is a greeting that references the current season and is one of the beautiful traditions of Japanese letter writing. There are conventional seasonal phrases, but it’s good to use your own expression to convey the seasonal feeling to the recipient. Below is an example of a seasonal greeting, but keep in mind that there are a lot of variations that depend on who you are writing to and what month it currently is.

大寒(だいかん)を​迎(むか)え​、​寒(さむ)さ​が​厳(きび)しさ​を​増(ま)して​おります​が​、​ご​清祥(せいしょう)に​お​暮(く)らし​でしょう​か​。​ "As we enter the coldest season of the year, the weather is getting colder and colder, and I hope that you are living in good health."

Main Part

Next we have the main part (主文(しゅぶん); shubun) of the letter. This is where you write your message to the addressee. Here, no special words or form have to be used, but the usual formality rules of Japanese apply.

End Phrase

The end phrase (末文(まつぶん); matsubun) of a letter consists of only two components:

In a private context, the closing words are used to express your wishes for the addressee's health and happiness, while in a business context, they are used to convey your hopes for the companies prosperity and success. By writing this part thoughtfully and sincerely, you can add a sense of care and consideration that will leave the recipient with a favorable impression.

A letter begins with an opening phrase and ends with a closing phrase, and generally they work in pairs. That is to say, your choice of opening needs to have a closing that matches. You can find an overview of them here. Sticking with our general opening phrase 拝啓(はいけい) (haikei), the appropriate closing phrase would be 敬具(けいぐ) (keigu), which can be translated as "yours truly." This also means that, just like with our opening phrase, there are many different words that can be used for our closing phrase, depending on the type of letter and who you are writing to.

Appendix

Lastly we have the appendix (後付(あとづけ); atozuke), which only has two components.

Both of these components should be fairly self-explanatory. For an example, you can look at our letter above.

When trying to write a beautiful letter, there are other things to look out for as well, such as how to correctly write the address of the addressee on the envelope, how to correctly fold your letter, and how to pack it in the envelope. However, if you are just starting out with your letter-writing journey, this guide should already give you plenty to practice.

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