What is the best way to sign off an email?

Finn:  Hello, I'm Finn and you're listening to Question and Answer of the Week.
 
Feifei:  大家好，我是冯菲菲。欢迎收听《你问我答》节目。
 
Finn:  And today we'll be saying goodbye quite a lot!
 
Feifei:  Goodbye?
 
Finn:  Yes: goodbye, see you soon, best wishes, best regards! Things like that.
 
Feifei:  Finn 说的这些短语想必大家都很熟悉吧？我们一起来听来自中国大连的 Milton  Feng 给我们提出的问题。
 
Insert
 
Could you please tell me the difference between kind regards and best regards?
 
Feifei:  Ok, Milton 想知道我们在写电子邮件时两种用来结尾的短语。
 
Finn:  Yes, he asked about two common phrases: best regards and kind regards.
 
Feifei:  Best  regards 谨此致意  and  kind  regards 致意，这两个短语的意思差不多吧？Finn?
 
Finn:  Well,  they're  not exactly  the  same  –  I'd  say  the  sense  of  kind  regards  is slightly warmer and more personal than best regards, maybe you'd use it if you know someone a little bit better.  I  think best  regards  is slightly more businesslike, but both are very common.
 
Feifei:  Finn 说  kind  regards 听起来会更有一丝暖意 warmer; 如果你认识这一个人，那么在给他/她写信的时候用  best  regards 就有一些太  businesslike 生硬，正式。不过  Finn 也说了这两个短语还是很接近的。
 
Finn:  They  are,  they're  very  close.  So  Milton,  thank  you  very  much  for  your question  and  I  hope  our  answer  helps  you.  But  you  know what  Feifei,  I think  people  in  China might  be  interested  in  a  few  other  email  sign-offs that we use in English?
 
Feifei:  I  think  so.  电子邮件结尾  email  sign-offs  在如今社会是一个非常重要的礼节etiquette. 越来越多的邮件交流逐渐代替了以往书信的沟通方式，与此同时信件的新格式和准则也在不断更新以适应当今电子邮件的流行趋势。 
 
 
Finn:  Indeed, so in some ways email is less formal than traditional letter-writing, but you  still need  to be aware of etiquette 礼节。Or  as  some people say: 'netiquette', that's internet etiquette.
 
Feifei:  可不是吗！电子邮件从某种程度上说比起传统的书信交流显得更随便些，当然还要取决于你联系的对象和你的关系等众多方面的因素。
 
Finn:  Yes – there are lots of different ways of signing off an email. But I think it's usually  best  to  be  formal  at  first, and  then  to mirror  the  person  you  are corresponding with.
 
Feifei:  Finn 觉得在最初和某人发邮件是最好用正式点儿的语言结束邮件，之后可以模仿  to mirror 这个人信中使用语言的拘谨程度来给予回复就行了。不过那些短语被视为邮件正式的结尾呢？
 
Finn:  We asked a few Londoners this question.
 
Insert
 
Normally kind regards, and then my name.   If it was to a formal person, depends how formal, yours sincerely or kind regards. But to a formal person it would it be like yours sincerely or yours faithfully or something like that. If it is for somebody, it is very formal, then I sign it off as regards. For like my supervisor I say best wishes. Regards, Phil. Thank you. Usually I say thank you.
 
 
Feifei:  So we heard a lot of things there.
 
Finn:  Yes  –  kind  regards was mentioned  a  few  times, which we  know  already. And also yours sincerely.
 
Feifei:  Yours sincerely 通常被用在正式的信函里，通常只有我们知道收信人的名字时，才会用这个短语；相反，当不知道收信人的名字时，我们用  yours faithfully.
 
Finn:  Yes – you don't see either of these very often in emails. But they are very formal  –  perhaps  best  for  things  like  job  applications  and  for  formal business writing. We also heard regards, thank you and best wishes.
 
Feifei:  和  best  regards, yours  sincerely 比起来，上面  Finn 提到的这些邮件结尾方式相对较随便。Regards 致意。  Best wishes 这个短语让人听起来既温暖又不是专业正式的感觉。
 
Finn:  And of course thank you is just that: thank you! 
 
Feifei:  我们再来听听几个非正式的邮件结尾方式。
 
Insert
 
Bye!
X, probably. 
 
Normally just my initial and then a kiss actually, depending on who I'm emailing. Bye, with a little kiss. I'm going to have to go for bye with a little kiss as well, maybe some more kisses. If  it's  to a mate  it's probably  like  cheers, my  name,  sort  of  thing,  so, maybe  a kiss  or two, don't know. I normally write thanks.
For a friend I say thanks, like that.
 
Feifei:  刚刚听到的是一些简单但很友好的短语，包括一个让大家多少有点儿惊讶的短语  a kiss 一个吻。
 
Finn:  Yes  – many  people  use  this  kiss  with  their  friends,  not  just  with  people they are going out with.
 
Feifei:  在英国很多人在邮件的结尾都会用英文字母  X 来代替一个吻，来表示和朋友间的友好。不过在用这个结尾方式时要特别注意使用对象，尽管它已被广泛使用，但有时候还可以被视为接近，靠近某人的一个方法和途径。
 
Finn:  Indeed. Well  actually,  I  expect  a  kiss  on  every  email!  No  seriously,  be careful with that one! One thing you'll also notice in informal emails is that some people don't write their full name, they just write an initial.
 
Feifei:  姓名的首字母。
 
Finn:  So I'd just write F.
 
Feifei:  And me – F! Or FF.
 
Finn:  Or FFF?
 
Feifei:  Hmm… depends how I feel!
 
Finn:  Then  there's  another  common way  to  finish  an  email  -  thanks  –  and  an even less formal, more friendly version – cheers.
 
Feifei:  So Finn – how do you like to sign off an email?
 
Finn:  Well that depends, for formal emails, I think the one I use most frequently is  best  regards.  And  for  friends,  I  usually  use  something  like  thanks  or speak soon. How about you?
 
Feifei:  I tend to use more soon or laters.
 
Finn:  Laters. That's a good one.
 
Feifei:  邮件结尾太正式或太随便都会让人觉得很不好，记着邮件的结尾要符合整封信的风格。
 
Finn:  Now, I asked Milton Feng how he likes to sign off his emails.
 
Insert
 
Two years before I generally write best regards. But when I get contact with an English customer, they always write kind regards at the end of the email. So I changed into kind regards now. 
 
 
Feifei:  我们今天在节目里讲了很多电子邮件结尾的短语表达，在我们的网站上你也会看到这些短语。我们的网址是：
 
Finn:  www.bbcchina.com.cn. And of course you can email us at:
 
Feifei:  questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk 
 
Finn:  And we'll be  very  interested  in  how you  sign off  your  email! Maybe best regards?
 
Feifei:  Or something more friendly, like thanks?
 
Finn:  Or maybe a kiss?
 
Feifei:  So, until next time, bye!
 
Finn:  Bye! 

This week’s question comes from Milton Feng in Dalian who wants to know about email sign-offs.

There are many ways of signing off an email, and choosing the right way is not always easy. Although email is a new form of communication, it is still important to pay attention to etiquette (or as some say; 'netiquette' – internet etiquette).

One good tip is to stay relatively formal when you first contact someone you don't know well. As you communicate more, you can then mirror that person's level of formality.

Here are some common formal email sign-offs:

Best regards 谨此致意

Kind regards 致意

Yours sincerely 您真诚的；... 谨启（信末签名前的套语）

Yours faithfully 您忠实的（信未署名前客套用语）

Regards 致意

Many thanks 多谢

Milton specifically asked about the difference between best regards and kind regards. These are very similar, though some people would say best regards is slightly more businesslike than kind regards.

And now for some common less formal email sign-offs:

Thanks 谢啦

Bye 拜拜

Speak soon 再聊

x 代表一个吻

If you have a question about the English language, send us an email: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk and we might be able to answer it for you one a page like this.

Glossary 词汇

email sign-offs 电子邮件结尾

form of communication 沟通方式

etiquette 礼节

mirror 模仿

level of formality 正式程度

businesslike 生硬