If you suddenly decide to write a letter to your German-speaking acquaintance, but do not know exactly how to do it, not because you do not know German, but simply because you are not aware of what are the special rules for writing letters then you should read this article. So how do you learn to write letters in German?
How to write letters in German on various topics
First you need to understand what character your letter will have. There are usually two types of letters: personal and official. When writing personal letters, they use a colloquial style, in which abbreviations, emotional narration, personal details and intimate appeals are allowed. Personal letters are usually written to acquaintances, friends, loved ones, relatives, and so on, so you can write on any topic.
It's a little different with official letters. They are obviously written in an official business style of speech, that is, the information provided is concise, unemotional, without the use of vernacular and abbreviations and unnecessary personal information. Such letters are written to employers inas an application for employment, to a school or institute, to a court, to the police, and so on. Formal letters are usually written according to a strictly defined pattern.
Sample: how to write a personal letter in German
Since the pattern for how to write a letter in German on an official subject may not be the same for all situations and is usually given by the organization you are contacting, it is best to elaborate on personal letters. You can see an example of a personal letter written to a German pen-friend:
Ivan Ivanov Tom Herz
Straße Sovetskaya 51 Straße Schwarzheit 13
Belgorod 89518 Heidenheim
Russia Deutschland
Hallo, liebe Tom!
Danke schön für deine letzte Brief, es war so interessant! Entschuldigung, ich habe nicht so lange geantwortet.
Ich habe so viel Nachrichten. Meine Schulzeit beendet und ich bin kein Schuljunge mehr. Meine Note sind gut und ich will betritt die Universität. Es ist so aufregend!
Und wie geht es dir? Wie ist Lernen? Ist die Gesundheit deiner Mutter besser? Ich warte ungeduldig auf die Antwort, schreibe mich.
Aufviedersehen, Ivan.
Rules for writing a letter
Let's look at the example of a personal letter in more detail. It must begin with the indication of the addresses of both the sender and the recipient. First you need to write your exact address (note that it is indicated in a special way, first you need to write the first and last name, thenstreet name and house number, city and only at the end of the country), which must be written separately from the text of the letter, at the top and with hyphenation in a column - there should be four lines in total.
After, according to tradition, there is an appeal, and here everything is no longer so strict. The person you are addressing can be called dear, beloved, respected, or just give a name - the main thing is to put a comma at the end of the appeal and wrap the text on the next line.
Next, in order to comply with the rules and regulations of etiquette, a few words should be said about how glad you were to receive the last letter, or an apology for the fact that you were a little late in answering. Then you can already proceed to the main part.
The body and end of the letter
You can start the main part by answering your interlocutor's questions in the last letter, and then write about yourself. Here you can no longer restrain yourself in anything and tell about everything that interests you and your friend. For example, if you do not know your foreign pen friend personally, then he will probably be interested in learning more about the details of life, life, study or work in your country.
And you, in turn, also ask your pen friend about where he lives, studies or works - for this, the next part of the letter is assigned, which must already be separated from the main part. It is considered uncivilized to tell only about yourself and forget to ask about who is receiving the letter. Then, as at the beginning, you need to say a few obligatory words like "waitingyour answer" or "say hello to friends", then put a comma, move your name to the next line and put a period.
Before sending, check your letter for correct construction and grammatical correctness, since writing a letter in German is quite a difficult task, and you certainly do not want your friend to have a hard time reading it.
