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Mythic Mandarin

Writing a formal email

HSK 4 Unit 6: Working life · Lesson 3 of 5 · About 22 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can understand and write a short formal email: subject, greeting, request, attachment and closing.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    What does 稳定 mean?

    1. to hand over, to make (friends)
    2. stable, steady
    3. to communicate
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, stable, steady.

    稳定 (wěndìng) means stable, steady.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “bonus”?

    1. 信任
    2. 奖金
    3. 邻居
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 奖金.

    “bonus” is 奖金 (jiǎngjīn).

  3. Listening

    From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    长大 zhǎngdà

    1. friendship
    2. to grow up
    3. to quarrel, to argue
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, to grow up.

    You heard 长大 (zhǎngdà): to grow up.

New words

  • 附件fùjiànattachment
  • 尽快jǐnkuàias soon as possible
  • 确认quèrènto confirm
  • 正式zhèngshìformal, official
  • 格式géshìformat

A formal email

A formal email in Chinese is short and polite. It names the person with a title, uses 您, gets to the point, and ends with a polite formula.

  • Greeting: 李经理，您好！
  • Purpose: 关于下个月的会议，…
  • Request: 请您尽快确认。
  • Attachment: 文件在附件里。
  • Closing: 谢谢！ or 祝工作顺利！

  • 请您收到邮件以后尽快回复。

    Qǐng nín shōudào yóujiàn yǐhòu jǐnkuài huífù.

    Please reply as soon as possible when you receive this email.

  • 我把会议的安排放在附件里了。

    Wǒ bǎ huìyì de ānpái fàng zài fùjiàn lǐ le.

    I've put the meeting schedule in the attachment.

正式 (zhèngshì) is formal; 格式 (géshi) is format.

Characters

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

Xiao Zhou's email

Xiao Zhou writes to Manager Zhao about next month's meeting.

Listen first

Play the whole text and answer the questions before you open it.

  1. Listening

    Listen first. When is the meeting?

    1. the twentieth at three
    2. the twentieth at nine
    3. the tenth at nine
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, the twentieth at nine.

    会议是在二十号上午九点.

  2. Listening

    What does Xiao Zhou ask the manager to do?

    1. write the meeting plan
    2. confirm as soon as possible
    3. call everyone about the meeting
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, confirm as soon as possible.

    请您尽快确认.

Show the text
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 赵经理Zhào jīnglǐ，您nín好hǎo！

    Dear Manager Zhao,

  2. 关于Guānyú下个xiàge月yuè的de会议huìyì，我wǒ已经yǐjīng把bǎ时间shíjiān和hé地点dìdiǎn安排ānpái好hǎo了le。

    Regarding next month's meeting, I have arranged the time and place.

  3. 会议Huìyì是shì在zài二十èrshí号hào上午shàngwǔ九jiǔ点diǎn，在zài公司gōngsī三sān楼lóu开kāi。

    The meeting is on the twentieth at nine in the morning, on the third floor.

  4. 会议Huìyì的de计划jìhuà在zài附件fùjiàn里lǐ，请qǐng您nín看kàn一下yíxià。

    The plan for the meeting is in the attachment. Please take a look.

  5. 要是Yàoshi没有méiyǒu问题wèntí，请qǐng您nín尽快jǐnkuài确认quèrèn，我wǒ好hǎo正式zhèngshì通知tōngzhī大家dàjiā。

    If there are no problems, please confirm as soon as possible, so I can formally notify everyone.

  6. 谢谢Xièxie！祝Zhù工作gōngzuò顺利shùnlì！

    Thank you! Best wishes,

  7. 小周Xiǎo Zhōu

    Xiao Zhou

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 要是没有问题，请您尽快确认，我好正式通知大家。

    Yàoshi méiyǒu wèntí, qǐng nín jǐnkuài quèrèn, wǒ hǎo zhèngshì tōngzhī dàjiā.

    If there are no problems, please confirm as soon as possible, so I can formally notify everyone.

  • 会议的计划在附件里，请您看一下。

    Huìyì de jìhuà zài fùjiàn lǐ, qǐng nín kàn yíxià.

    The plan for the meeting is in the attachment. Please take a look.

  • 赵经理，您好！

    Zhào jīnglǐ, nín hǎo!

    Dear Manager Zhao,

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 附件 mean?

    1. besides, except
    2. attachment
    3. husband and wife, a married couple
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, attachment.

    附件 (fùjiàn) means attachment.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “as soon as possible”?

    1. 尽快
    2. 合作
    3. 格式
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 尽快.

    “as soon as possible” is 尽快 (jǐnkuài).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 确认 (to confirm)?

    1. quèrēn
    2. quèrèn
    3. quérèn
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, quèrèn.

    确认 is read quèrèn. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    正式 zhèngshì

    1. not
    2. to come in
    3. formal, official
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, formal, official.

    You heard 正式 (zhèngshì): formal, official.

  5. Your turn

    Recall: type the Chinese for “format” (characters or pinyin).

    Show the answer

    Answer: 格式

    “format” is 格式 (géshì).

  6. Fill the gap

    Complete: The document is in the attachment.

    文件在＿＿里。

    1. 附件
    2. 格式
    3. 正式
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 附件.

    文件在附件里: in the attachment.

  7. In context

    You need an answer quickly. What do you write?

    1. 请尽快回复。
    2. 请正式回复。
    3. 请格式回复。
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 请尽快回复。.

    请尽快回复。: 尽快: as soon as possible.

  8. Grammar

    Which sentence means I've arranged the meeting?

    1. 我已经安排会议好了。
    2. 我把已经会议安排了好。
    3. 我已经把会议安排好了。
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 我已经把会议安排好了。.

    我已经把会议安排好了。: 我已经把会议安排好了: 把 + object + verb + result.

  9. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for please confirm

    Show the answer

    Answer: 请确认

    请确认: please confirm.

Write an email

Write a short formal email of five or six lines, then read it out loud.

  1. Greet the person with their title.
  2. Say what the email is about with 关于.
  3. Make a request with 请您尽快….
  4. Mention an attachment and close politely.

Sentence frames

  • ＿＿，您好！

    ＿＿, nín hǎo!

    Dear ...,

  • 关于＿＿，＿＿。

    Guānyú ＿＿, ＿＿.

    Regarding ..., ...

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I can understand and write a short formal email.
  • I know 附件, 尽快, 确认 and 正式.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: Work and life in balance