How to write a letter in French

A friendly letter in French starts with the place and date at the top right ("Leeds, le 9 novembre 2026"), then "Cher" or "Chère" and the name: "Chère Léa,". You write to a friend as tu, and you sign off with "À bientôt", "Bises" or "Je t’embrasse" before your name. A formal letter opens with "Madame, Monsieur," and ends with a set sentence. Here is each part, with the words to use and a model letter to copy.

The parts of a friendly letter

Leeds, le 9 novembre 20261

Chère Léa,2

Merci pour ta lettre! J’espère que tu vas bien.3

Écris-moi vite!5

Bises,6

Oliver7

Place and date, top right. Months take no capital letter.
Greeting, followed by a comma. The next line starts with a capital.
Opening line: thank them, or ask how they are.
Your news, in short paragraphs, with a question or two for them to answer.
Closing line: ask them to write back.
Sign-off, on its own line.
Your name.

How to start a letter in French

"Dear" is cher, and it changes with the person you write to: cher for a boy or a man, chère for a girl or a woman, and chers or chères for several people.

French	English	When to use it
Cher Tom, / Chère Léa,	Dear Tom, / Dear Léa,	Friends, family, pen pals. Chère for a girl or woman.
Chers amis, / Chères amies,	Dear friends,	Several people. Chères only if they are all girls or women.
Salut Tom!	Hi Tom!	Friends your own age.
Coucou!	Hi there!	Close friends and family.
Bonjour Madame,	Hello (to a woman),	A polite note or email, for example to a teacher.
Madame, Monsieur,	Dear Sir or Madam,	A formal letter to someone you don’t know.

First lines

Merci pour ta lettre! Thank you for your letter!
J’espère que tu vas bien. I hope you’re well.
Comment ça va? How are you?
Ça fait longtemps! It’s been a long time!
Je m’appelle Oliver et j’ai dix ans. My name is Oliver and I’m ten. (For a first letter.)

How to end a letter in French

A French letter usually ends in two steps: a closing line that asks for a reply, then a short sign-off on its own line, just above your name. The closer you are to someone, the warmer the sign-off.

Closing lines

Écris-moi vite! Write back soon!
J’attends ta réponse avec impatience. I can’t wait to hear from you.
Donne-moi de tes nouvelles. Let me know how you’re getting on.
Dis bonjour à ta famille. Say hello to your family.

Sign-offs, from closest to most formal

French	English	When to use it
Gros bisous / Bisous	Lots of love / Love	Family and close friends. Children use it all the time.
Grosses bises / Bises	Big hugs / Love	Friends and family.
Je t’embrasse	Love (word for word, “I kiss you”)	Family and close friends.
À bientôt / À très bientôt	See you soon / Speak soon	Anyone you call tu.
Amitiés / Amicalement	Best wishes / Kind regards	Friends, and pen pals you are only getting to know.
Cordialement	Kind regards	Emails to someone you call vous.
Je vous prie d’agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l’expression de mes salutations distinguées.	Yours faithfully	Formal letters. Yes, the whole sentence.

Don’t translate English sign-offs word for word. "Best wishes" is not "meilleurs messages": the Académie française advises against it, since French has plenty of sign-offs of its own.

How Nathalie starts and ends her letters

Every Lettres de France letter is a friendly letter, written to the reader as tu. Here is how Nathalie began her letter about French bread, for ages 7 to 11:

Bonjour les amis!
C’est Nathalie! Il fait maintenant plutôt froid, l’automne est bien installé…

Hello Friends! It’s Nathalie! It’s getting rather cold now, autumn has well and truly settled in…

And how she ends every letter:

À très bientôt les amis!
Nathalie

See you soon friends! Nathalie

It follows the same shape as above: a greeting, a line about the season to say hello, the news (here, the story of bread), and a warm sign-off. "Bonjour les amis!" works because she writes to many readers at once; to one friend, you would write "Cher Tom," or "Chère Léa,".

A model letter to a French pen pal

Change the names and the news, and keep the shape.

Leeds, le 9 novembre 2026

Chère Camille,

Merci pour ta lettre! J’espère que tu vas bien.

Je m’appelle Oliver et j’ai dix ans. J’habite à Leeds, dans le nord de l’Angleterre, avec mes parents, ma petite sœur et notre chien, Biscuit. À l’école, j’adore le dessin et le sport, mais je n’aime pas trop les maths!

Le week-end dernier, on a fait du pain perdu à la maison. C’était délicieux! Est-ce que tu manges souvent du pain perdu en France?

Écris-moi vite et parle-moi de ton école!

Bises,
Oliver

Leeds, 9 November 2026

Dear Camille,

Thank you for your letter! I hope you’re well.

My name is Oliver and I’m ten. I live in Leeds, in the north of England, with my parents, my little sister and our dog, Biscuit. At school I love art and sport, but I’m not so keen on maths!

Last weekend we made French toast at home. It was delicious! Do you often have pain perdu in France?

Write back soon and tell me about your school!

Love,
Oliver

Pain perdu ("lost bread") is the French name for French toast. If your pen pal asks for the recipe, there is one on our page about French bread.

Tu or vous?

Use tu with friends, family and anyone your own age, pen pals included. Use vous with adults you don’t know well and in any formal letter. Whichever you choose, keep it all the way through: "Je t’embrasse" goes with tu, "Cordialement" with vous.

A formal letter, in brief

Formal French letters follow a fixed layout: your name and address top left, the recipient’s below it on the right, then the place and date, and a subject line starting Objet:. Open with Madame, Monsieur, (or just Madame, or Monsieur, if you know who will read it), write as vous, and close with the full sentence from the table above. "Cher Monsieur" is for someone you already know, not a first letter.

Mistakes English speakers often make

Cher for everyone. It’s Chère Léa, not "Cher Léa".
Capital months and "th". Write le 3 mars, not "le 3ème Mars".
Mixing tu and vous in the same letter.
Bisous to a teacher. Keep kisses for family and friends.

Questions

How do you end a letter to a friend in French?

Write a closing line such as "Écris-moi vite!" (Write back soon!), then a sign-off on its own line: "À bientôt" (See you soon), "Bises" or "Bisous" (Love), or "Je t’embrasse" for family and close friends. Your name goes underneath.

How do you start a letter in French?

To a friend, write "Cher" for a boy or man and "Chère" for a girl or woman, then the name and a comma: "Cher Tom," or "Chère Léa,". "Salut!" is more casual. A formal letter to someone you don’t know starts with "Madame, Monsieur,".

Should I use tu or vous in a letter?

Use tu with friends, family and anyone your own age, pen pals included. Use vous with adults you don’t know well and in formal letters. Pick one and keep it all the way through, sign-off included.

How do you write the date on a French letter?

Put the place, a comma, then "le", the day, the month and the year, at the top right: "Leeds, le 9 novembre 2026". Months take no capital letter, and the first of the month is "le 1er".