5 Simple Tricks to Writing Business Email in Chinese Like a Pro

Recently updated on November 21st, 2025 at 09:21 am

Email is how everyone communicates now, whether we like it or not. And when you need to write a business email in Chinese, the shift can catch you off guard.

In English, you open with “Hi” or “Dear,” close with “Best,” and move on. Simple.

Chinese emails follow a different rhythm. Since our team works between both languages every day, we see people try to write in Chinese the same way they type on WeChat, and it rarely fits the tone you need for a boss or a client.

Hierarchy matters more. The tone has to be respectful. Even small word choices can change how the message is received.

So when you’re writing to someone senior or someone you want to show respect to, slow down a little. A Chinese business email isn’t just an English one translated word for word. It needs a different touch.

Structure of Business Email in Chinese: 5 Essential Elements

Salutation

It’s important to greet everybody who you are emailing and use business labels where appropriate, such as ‘President’ or ‘Manager’. Some formal titles:

• 先生 – xiān shēng – Sir/Mr
• 女士 – nǚ shì – Ms/Mrs
• 经理 – jīng lǐ – Manager
• 领导 – lǐng dǎo – Leader
• 总经理 – zǒng jīng lǐ – President/General Manager
• 同志 – tóng zhì – Comrade

It usually starts with “Dear/Respectable 尊敬的 zūn jìng de or 敬爱的 jìng ài de”, followed by the name (normally the surname in Chinese) and then the gender/position.  So if you want to address Professor Wang, you’d open the email with: “尊敬的王教授”, then it’s followed by a formal greeting “Hello 您好 nín hǎo”.

尊敬的王教授:

您好！

If you don’t know the exact name of the person you’re emailing, the Chinese version of “to whom it may concern 致相关人士 – zhì xiāng guān rén shì” is perfectly acceptable.

Content

The body of your email doesn’t need to be incredibly short, but it should be quick and to the point if you’re writing for business purposes. This is especially the case if you’re asking for something or your email is time-sensitive.

Closing

Always thank your readers thoroughly for reading your email. Again, politeness, modesty and humility is key for coming off as someone who cares about saving face. Not every email you send needs to end with an apology and a gratuitous thankful statement, but make it clear you care about them taking the time.

Examples:

麻烦您了! (má fan nǐ le!) 多谢 ! (duō xiè) (Sorry for the trouble! Thanks a lot,)

如有不便之处，敬请见谅。(rú yǒu bù biàn zhī chù, jìng qǐng jiàn liàng.) (Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience we have caused.)

Another way to to sign off is writing their name followed by “敬上” which is similar to saying, “Respectfully yours…”.

Example: “艾米敬上”.

Writing Business Email in Chinese: Essential Phrases

English	Chinese Hanzi	Chinese Pinyin
To / Recipient	收件人	shōu jiàn rén
CC	抄送	chāo sòng
BCC	隐式抄送	yǐn shì chāo sòng
From	发件人	fā jiàn rén
Date	日期	rì qī
Subject	主题	zhǔ tí
Respectable	尊敬的	zūnjìng de
Respected and beloved	敬爱的	jìng’ài de
Ms / Mrs	女士	nǚ shì
Mr	先生	xiān sheng
Ms or Mrs (plural) / Ladies	女士们	nǚ shì men
Mr (plural) / Gentlemen	先生们	Xiānshēngmen
To whom it may concern	致相关人士	zhì xiāng guān rén shì
Hello (singular)	您好	nín hǎo
Hello everyone	各位好	gèwèi hǎo
Long time no see. How are you recently?	好久不见，近来可好？	Hǎojiǔ bùjiàn, jìnlái kě hǎo?
Please note that	请知悉	qǐng zhīxī
Thank you for your email	感谢您的来信	gǎn xiè nín de lái xìn
Sorry for the trouble	麻烦你了	má fan nǐ le
Apologies for any inconvenience	如有不便之处，敬请见谅	rú yǒu bú biàn zhī chù, jìng qǐng jiàn liàng
Take care	保重	bǎo zhòng
All the best	顺祝商祺	shùnzhù shāngqí
Looking forward to hearing from you	期待您的答复	qī dài nín de dáfù
Best Regards	此致敬礼	cǐ zhì jìng lǐ
I am writing to enquire about…	我写信，想询问关于……的信息	Wǒ xiě xìn, xiǎng xúnwèn guānyú…… de xìnxī
Please refer to the attachment	请查阅附件	Qǐng cháyuè fùjiàn
If you need any additional assistance, please contact me	如果您需要任何其他帮助，请联系我	Rúguǒ nín xūyào rènhé qítā bāngzhù, qǐng liánxì wǒ

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