Writing Formal Emails and Letters in English: A Guide for Hindi Speakers

Structure, greetings, closings and polite phrases for formal English emails and letters, with Hindi equivalents for the key expressions.

A clear, polite email opens doors at work and in study. Here is a simple structure and set of phrases.

Structure

Subject line — short and specific (e.g. Leave application for 12–14 June).
Greeting — Dear Sir/Madam or Dear Mr Sharma.
Opening line — why you're writing.
Body — details in short paragraphs.
Closing line — what you'd like next.
Sign-off — Yours sincerely, Regards.

Use Dear Sir/Madam when you don't know the name, and Yours faithfully; use Dear Mr/Ms [Name] with Yours sincerely.

Purpose	English	Hindi
Opening	I am writing to inform you...	मैं आपको सूचित करना चाहता हूँ...
Request	I would be grateful if you could...	यदि आप... तो मैं आभारी रहूँगा
Attach	Please find the attached document.	कृपया संलग्न दस्तावेज़ देखें।
Apologise	I apologise for the inconvenience.	असुविधा के लिए खेद है।
Closing	I look forward to your reply.	मैं आपके उत्तर की प्रतीक्षा करूँगा।

Subject: Request for leave

Dear Sir,

I am writing to request leave from 12 to 14 June because of a family event. I will complete my pending work before leaving.

I would be grateful if you could approve my request.

Yours faithfully, Ravi Kumar

Starting with Respected Sir (common in Indian English but unusual elsewhere); Dear Sir is safer.
Writing very long sentences.
Forgetting a subject line.