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Letter writing in French The following advice about writing letters in French is not exhaustive, but should be regarded as information which will make your letters more "French" and very importantly may avoid misunderstandings or misinterpretations. Being familiar with some of the conventions of French letter writing will also be of interest when you receive letters in French or English from French native speakers. Laying out the letter In formal letters if you are writing on a plain sheet of paper, it is normal to write your name, without title, above your address at the top of the page, on the lefthand side of the sheet. When writing your own address at the top of the letter, it is of course quite correct to place commas at the ends of lines, if you wish. However, when writing the address of your French addressee in a formal letter or on the envelope, it is worth remembering that end-of-line punctuation is not the norm in France and may even be regarded as a mistake or something which may cause a letter to be misdirected. The addressee's name and address should be inserted below your address on the right-hand side of the sheet. In a letter to someone with a title, in a business for instance, the title is placed after the addressee's full name. The full forms should always be used. Abbreviations can be used on the envelope if the full form doesn't fit (M. for Monsieur; Mme for Madame and Mlle for Mademoiselle). Note that the full stop is only used after M. The date comes after the addressee's name and is usually also on the right-hand side of the sheet. When writing an informal letter it is customary not to include either your own or the addressee's address. In this type of letter, people often write the name of the place they are in, followed by the date at the top of the page. The place is the town, city, village or other recognizable location. Bordeaux, le 12 juillet 2002 In writing the date, the day number is preceded by le. Note also that in French, unlike in English, names of the month are not capitalized. The convention is to write dates: day-month-year. More informally you can write this information in numerals: 12-07-02. Greetings In formal letters whether you know the name of the person you are writing to or not: To a man: Monsieur, To a woman: Madame, Mademoiselle, 1 When you don't know if your letter will be read by a man or a woman: Madame, Monsieur, Messieurs, To a lawyer: Maître, This opening appears on the left-hand side. Note the use of the comma, which is obligatory. Note: when writing to a woman and when in doubt about her marital status, it is always better to use Madame rather than Mademoiselle. For official certificates, such as attestations of employment, the opening usually is: À qui de droit (to whom it may concern). In slightly less formal letters if you know the name of the addressee, you can also write: Cher monsieur Dupont, Chère madame Durand, which is slightly less formal. In a business letter when you have established a good relationship with the addressee, cher/chère followed by the addressee's given name is appropriate: Cher Antoine, Chère Elisa, In informal letters or when you know the addressee well, an opening following cher/chère or mon cher/ma chère is appropriate: Cher Matthieu, Chère Béatrice, Chers Béatrice et Matthieu, Chers tous, Ma chère Béatrice, Mon cher Papa, Closing the Letter If you read correspondence manuals in French you will probably be surprised at how many potential letter endings there are for formal correspondence. Modern practice is to use a limited number of endings and to keep them shorter and less formal than was formerly the case. The following are should be adequate for most situations. Formal endings: In formal letters, the form of address chosen for the opening formula should be reflected in the closing formula, i.e. if you've started your letter with Madame, it should end with something like: Veuillez agréer, Madame, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées. All of the examples below should be immediately followed by your signature. 2 Dans l'attente de vous lire, je vous prie d'agréer, Messieurs, l'expression de mes sentiments distingués. Pending you read, please accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration. Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments distingués. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest Je vous adresse, Madame, Monsieur, mes salutations distinguées. I wish you, Madam, Yours sincerely Je vous prie de croire, Madame, en nos sentiments dévoués. I beg you to believe, Madame, we feel committed Less formal endings: Salutations distinguées. Cordialement, In friendly personal letters, the following are often used: Amicalement, Bien à vous, A bientôt, Avec toute mon affection, Grosses bises, In letters to family members, endings are obviously freer, but some typical ones are: Grosses bises, Affectueusement, Je t'embrasse très fort, Bisous, Addressing the envelope The address should be carefully written taking account of the comments about laying out the letter made above. If you want to include your return address on the envelope, this should be written on the back of the envelope after the word: Exp. (short for Expéditeur/-trice). An example would be along the lines of: Exp.: Mary O'Reilly, 867 Fifth Avenue, New York NY10022, USA. Street names The full street name is often abbreviated in correspondence, especially on the envelope. For example, Avenue can be written Av. and Boulevard Bd. e.g. 180 Av. du Gal Leclerc (180 Avenue du Général Leclerc) The format and content of letters in France are somewhat different than in English 3 Address The position of the sender's address and recipient's address is different from the English norm (in fact, the exact reverse of the positions used in most English speaking countries). Your name and address should be in the top-left corner and the recipient's name and address should be underneath on the right hand side. In the case of pre-printed stationary or business stationary this rule is not always followed, but these positions are the norm for letters on a plain sheet of paper. Normally the addresses will not have commas at the ends of lines. David Smith 10, Rue du Peupliers 39000 Lons-le-Saunier Monsieur Pierre Dubois 3, Place de Indépendence 72147 Arbois 17-7-2005 Monsieur Dubois, Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments distingués, David Smith Your name should be without title (David Smith, not Mr. David Smith). However, the person you are addressing the letter to should have his title (Monsieur Pierre Dubois, or in the case of certain professions Maître Pierre Dubois). The full title of the addressee should be used (Monsieur Pierre Dubois, not M. Pierre Dubois) on the letter, although abbreviations are acceptable on the envelope if there is insufficient room. If the addressee has a title (in a business for instance), this should be placed on the line after his full name. David Smith 10, Rue du Peupliers 39000 Lons-le-Saunier Monsieur Pierre Dubois Director d'agence Banque Agricole 3, Place de Indépendence 72147 Arbois Le 17 juillet 2005 4 Monsieur, Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments distingués, David Smith In some cases, the sender's name will be reversed and have the surname in capitals (SMITH David rather than David Smith). Note that in this case (unlike the English norm) there is no comma between the surname and the first name (SMITH David rather than SMITH, David). Date The date comes after the recipient's address, also on the right-hand side of the page. The day is preceded by "Le" and the names of months are not capitalized. In less formal letters the date can be written as numerals; in this case it is in the format day-month-year rather than month-day-year (see Salutation( Greeting) The greetings appear on the left side (as in English letters) and are as follows: o o o o o to a man: Monsieur to a woman: Madame (if married) or Mademoiselle (if very young and unmarried) if you don't know if it is a man or a woman: Madame, Monsieur, Messieurs for certain professions (e.g. lawyer, notaire): Maître for certain official certificates: À qui de droit (to whom it may concern) The use of a person's name is normally reserved for less formal letters (e.g. Cher Monsieur Dubois or Chère Madame Dubois). Between friends and family one would use first names (e.g. Cher Pierre). In all cases, the greeting is followed by a comma. See Sample letter 1 and Sample letter 2. Closings The letter closing is perhaps the most (or even only) complex part of a French letter. As this is a fairly substantial topic on it's own, a dedicated page is provided at Letter closings. French letter Closings In English correspondence there are a relatively small number of closings (yours truly, yours sincerely, etc.). In French there is a great variety and in formal letters they are generally elaborate; this is perhaps the most difficult area of writing a French letter as one must take into account social conventions rather than simply 5 do a literal translation. Fortunately, the closings all follow the same format, consisting of four parts. The four parts can be roughly translated as the following (I've added the colours to distinguish between the four parts): Following are some example closings, again with colours to show the four parts: Veuillez agréer, Madame, l'assurance de mes sentiments distingués /Accept, Madam, the assurances of my highest Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments distingués/ Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame et Monsieur, l'expression de mes respectueuses salutations /Please accept, Madam and Sir, the assurances of my respectful greetings In more detail, these four parts are: o o o o A request that you agree or accept the following good wishes. For example: Je vous prie d'agréer (roughly translates to "I pray that you agree") The title (e.g. Monsieur) of the person you are writing to. This should match with the opening so if you opened with Monsieur you should also close with Monsieur, if you opened with Messieurs you should then close with Messieurs, and so on. The expression or assurance of the following statement. A respectful statement. Options for Closing a French LetterThe following table shows various options for the first, third and fourth part of the closings as described above. The second part, as noted above, is merely the person's title. This should replace the '...' shown in the first column. For each of the three columns, the phrases are listed from the most formal to the most informal. Consequently, for a close friendship one would normally chose a phrase near the bottom of the column whereas for a formal letter a phrase near the top would be more appropriate. In years past, the phrases near the top of each column were more commonly used. However, a gradual decrease in formality has resulted in this becoming somewhat less common. Request Je vous prie d'agréer,..., Assurance/expre Not Respectful statement ssion of es l'assurance de 6 ma considération distinguée 3 Je vous prie l'expression de d'accepter,..., Je vous prie de croire,..., à Veuillez agréer,..., Veuillez croire,..., à Agréer,..., Croyez,..., à mes sentiments 1 respecteux mes sentiments 1,5 dévoués mes sincères salutations mes respectueux 2,3 hommages mes salutations distinguées mes sentiments 1 distingués mes cordiales 4 salutations mes sentiments les 1,4 meilleurs mon meilleur souvenir 4 4 mon bon sourvenir mon fidèle souvenir 4 The following notes are applicable only to the third column of this table (respectful statement): 1. This phrase should normally not be used when a man is writing to a woman. It is OK for a man writing to a man or a woman writing to a man. This restriction is due to the fact that the word "sentiments", when used from a man to a woman, can also mean romantic feelings. Consequently, unless one has a recognised romantic relationship, it is generally not done for a man to use these phrases when writing to a woman. Having said that, even among the French this restriction is often not followed. 2. This phrase is normally not used by a woman writing to a man. Same issue as above, except in reverse. 3. Some people would consider these phrases pompous. In modern French culture, these would normally be used when writing to someone with a formal and important social role (e.g. the mayor of Paris). 4. These phrases, at the bottom of the column, are the most informal. They would normally be used where there were friendly relations and not in the more formal letters. 5. This phrase is often used when writing to one's boss or a client. The term 'dévoués' translates to 'devoted', confirming one's devotion to work or the client's requirements. 7 One can make the closing less formal by omitting the phrase in the second column (l'assurance de, l'expression de). If this is done, the 'à' in the first column must also be deleted. The examples in the above table are written in the first person singular (i.e. a letter from yourself as an individual). If you are writing on behalf of a group or a company, you will likely want to change these expressions to the plural. This is done by: o o o Replacing 'je' by 'nous' in the first column (only necessary for the first 3 items, the remaining four don not need changes). Replacing 'ma', 'mes', and 'mon' by the corresponding plural form Changing all verb conjugations to the plural. Less Formal Closings & Intimate ClosingsIn less formal letters, there are also a great variety of possible simpler and more intimate closings. For example: Salutations distinguées, Cordialement or Amicalement. With family or close friends possible closings include: Grosses bises, Affectueusement, Je t'embrasse. EMAILs often have informal closings (e.g. 'Cordialement'), unless the subject of the EMAIL itself is formal. This appears to be related to the general trend to less formality in terms of salutations and closings. Pre-closingsThe closing is often preceded by a phrase, typically asking you to do something or thanking you for having done something. It is simply placed in front of the closing. For example, instead of "Veuillez agréer, Madame, l'assurance de mes sentiments distingués" one could write "Dans l'attente de votre réponse, veuillez agréer, Madame, l'assurance de mes sentiments distingués". Following are some typical examples: Phrase Dans l'attente de votre réponse... Comptant sur une prompte réponse... Avec mes remerciements... Dans l'attente de vous lire... Vous remerciant par avance... Rough meaning While waiting for your response... Counting on a prompt response... With my thanks... While waiting to hear from you... Thanking you in advance... Envelope The return address is frequently put on the back of the envelope, under Expediteur (French for 'sender'). If put on the front, it is normal practice to make an 'x' over the address. The post office claims that if this is not 8 done, the sending address and return address may be confused by their staff. French Phrases: How to write a letter Objet...-Re... Pièces jointes / P.J.-Enclosed / Encl Nous vous remercions de...-Thank you for...... votre commande-...your order... votre lettre du 10 janvier-...your letter of 10 January Veuillez...-Please......trouver ci-joint-...find enclosed/attached... nous faire parvenir-...send us...nous excuser de-...accept our apologies for Suite à notre conversation-Following our conversation Suite à votre annonce dans...-Following your advertisement in... Nous vous serions reconnaissants de nous faire parvenir...-We would be grateful if you could send us... N'hésitez pas à me/nous contacter...-Do not hesitate to contact me/us...... le cas échéant-...if need be...si vous avez besoin de...-...if you need...... plus amples renseignements-...further information Dans l'attente de votre réponse-I/we look forward to hearing from you "Dans l'attente"-"look forward to hearing" (shortened form sometimes used in semi-informal correspondence) Letter openings In informal letters, the word cher (feminine chère) is used in a similar way to English Dear. In more formal letters, the word Monsieur etc tends to stand on its own (though Cher Monsieur etc is possible). Cher Michel Chère Michelle Chers Michel et - Dear Michel (male form) - Dear Michelle (female form) - Dear Michel and Danielle 9 Danielle Salut Daniel! Bonjour (à tous)! Coucou! Recoucou! Chers Collègues Monsieur Madame Messieurs Monsieur le Directeur Monsieur le Maire/Proviseur - Hi Daniel! - Hello (all)! (Used in e-mails) Hi there! (Very informal; suitable for an informal e-mail between friends) Hi again! (Very informal; suitable for an informal e-mail between friends) - Dear Colleagues - Dear Sir - Dear Madame - Dear Sirs - Dear Sir (writing to a director, CEO etc) - Dear Mayor/Headmaster Closures: informal Closures to informal letters are less formulaic than formal or business letters, so there are a variety of possibilities. Here are some common ones: Je t'embrasse Amicalement Affectueuseme nt... (Grosses) bises Gros bisous Bisouxx - Big hugs - Best wishes (used between friends) - Love from... - =(big) hugs - Love (and kisses) Kisses (humorous variant used in e-mail and text messages) Closures: formal Traditionally, French business correspondence ends with one of various silly long-winded formulae, although particularly in the case of e-mail correspondence, these are starting to go out the window. A common favourite for closing a semi-formal business e-mail is cordialement. Veuillez recevoir, Monsieur/Madame, nos salutations distingués. Je vous prie d'agréer, Monsieur/Madame, l'expression de mes sentiments respectueux. Veuillez agréer, - =Yours sincerely - =Yours sincerely, when writing to a superior - =Yours sincerely, when writing to 10 Monsieur/Madame, l'assurance de notre parfaite somebody of a lower grade considération. Je vous prie de croire, =Yours faithfully/sincerely, used Monsieur/Madame, à - especially when writing to a person l'assurance de mes salutations in an important position distinguées Cordialement - Regards Phrases: Personal Letter (English-French) ENGLISH FRENCH DESCRIPTION Letter : Address Mr. N. Summerbee 335 Main Street New York NY 92926 Jean Dupont 18 rue des acacias 75500 PARIS. Jeremy Rhodes 212 Silverback Drive California Springs CA 92926 Mr. J. Rhodes 212 Silverback Drive California Springs CA 92926 Adam Smith 8 Crossfield Road Selly Oak Birmingham West Midlands B29 1WQ Adam Smith 8 Crossfield Road Selly Oak Birmingham West Midlands B29 1WQ Sally Davies 155 Mountain Rise Antogonish NS B2G 5T8 Patrice Clerc 44 rue des océans MONTREAL G3Z 2E1 Celia Jones Jacques Durand 11 Standard English Address format: name of recipient street number + street name name of town + region/state + zip/postal code. American address format: Name of recipient Street number + street name Name of town + state abbreviation + zip code British and Irish address format: Name of recipient Number + street name Town/city name County Postal code Canadian address format: Name of recipient Street number + street name Name of town + province abbreviation + postal code Australian address 47 Herbert Street Floreat Perth WA 6018 rue des fleurs 25 1000 BRUXELLES. Alex Marshall Stephane Rolex 745 King Street 50 rue des arbres West End, Wellington 0680 1500 GENÈVE. format: Name of recipient Street number + street name Name of province Town/city name + postal code New Zealand address format: Name of recipient Number + street name Suburb/RD number/PO box Town/city + postal code Letter: Opening Informal, standard way of addressing a friend Informal, standard Chère Maman / Cher Dear Mum / Dad, way of addressing Papa, your parents Informal, standard way of addressing a Dear Uncle Jerome, Cher Oncle Jean, member of your family Informal, standard Hello John, Salut Jean, way of addressing a friend Very informal, Hey John, Coucou Jean, standard way of addressing a friend Informal, direct way John, Jean, of addressing a friend Very informal, used My Dear, Mon chéri / Ma chérie, when addressing a loved one Very informal, used Mon cher/ ma chère et My Dearest, when addressing a tendre partner Informal, used when Dearest John, Mon Jean d'amour, addressing a partner Used when replying Thank you for your letter. Merci pour votre lettre. to correspondence It was good to hear from Cela m'a fait plaisir Used when replying Dear John, Cher Jacques, 12 you again. d'avoir des nouvelles. to correspondence Used when writing to Je suis désolé de ne pas I am very sorry I haven't an old friend you t'avoir écrit depuis si written for so long. haven't contacted longtemps. for a while Used when writing to Cela fait trop It's such a long time since an old friend you longtemps que l'on ne we had any contact. haven't contacted s'est pas contacté. for a long time Letter : Main Body I am writing to tell you that... Je t'écris pour te dire que... Used when you have important news Used when you want Have you made any plans to invite someone to As-tu des plans pour...? for...? an event or meet up with them Used when thanking someone for sending something / inviting Many thanks for sending / Merci pour someone inviting / enclosing... l'invitation......... somewhere / enclosing some information Used when sincerely thanking someone I am very grateful to you Je te suis très for telling you for letting me know / reconnaissant de m'avoir something / offering offering me / writing to dit /offert / écrit... you something / me... writing to you regarding something Used when you sincerely appreciate It was so kind of you to Ce fut très aimable de ta something someone write / invite me / send part de m'écrire / m' wrote to you / me... inviter / m' envoyer... invited you to / sent you Used when I am delighted to J'ai la joie de vous announcing good announce that... annoncer que... news to friends I was delighted to hear J'ai eu la joie d'apprendre Used when relaying that... que... a message or news Used when I am sorry to inform you J'ai le regret de vous announcing bad that... informer que... news to friends Used when I was so sorry to hear Je fus désolé d'apprendre comforting a friend that... que... regarding bad news that they had 13 Letter: Closing Used when you want Give my love to...and tell Transmets mon amour to tell someone you them how much I miss à...et dis lui qu'il / elle me miss them via the them. manque. recipient of the letter Used when adding ...sends his / her love. ...envoie ses salutations. someone else's regards to a letter Used when wanting to acknowledge Say hello to...for me. Dis bonjour à...de ma part. someone else via the person to whom you are writing Used when you want I look forward to hearing Dans l'attente d'une lettre to receive a letter in from you soon. de ta part... reply Direct, used when Write back soon. Écris-moi vite. you want to receive a letter in reply Used when you want the recipient to reply Do write back when... Écris-moi quand... only when they have news of something Used when you want Send me news, when you Envoie-moi des nouvelles the recipient to reply know anything more. quand tu en sauras plus. only when they have news of something Used when writing to Take care. Prends soin de toi. family and friends Used when writing to I love you. Je t'aime. your partner Informal, used Best wishes, Tous mes voeux, between family, friends or colleagues Informal, used when With best wishes, Meilleurs voeux, writing to family or friends Informal, used when Kindest regards, Meilleures salutations, writing to family or friends Informal, used when All the best, Bonne chance, writing to family or friends Informal, used when Je t'envoie tout mon All my love, writing to family or amour, friends Lots of love, Mes amours, Informal, used when 14 Much love, Mes amours, writing to family Informal, used when writing to family Phrases: Personal E-Mail (English-French) ENGLISH FRENCH DESCRIPTION E-Mail : Opening Informal, standard Dear John, Cher Jacques, way of addressing a friend Informal, standard Dear Mum / Dad, Chère Maman / Cher Papa, way of addressing your parents Informal, standard way of addressing a Dear Uncle Jerome, Cher Oncle Jean, member of your family Informal, standard Hello John, Salut Jean, way of addressing a friend Very informal, Hey John, Coucou Jean, standard way of addressing a friend Informal, direct way John, Jean, of addressing a friend Very informal, used My Dear, Mon chéri / Ma chérie, when addressing a loved one Very informal, used Mon cher/ ma chère et My Dearest, when addressing a tendre partner Informal, used when Dearest John, Mon cher Jean, addressing a partner Used when replying Thank you for your E-mail. Merci pour votre courriel. to correspondence It was good to hear from Cela m'a fait plaisir d'avoir Used when replying you again. des nouvelles. to correspondence Used when writing to Je suis désolé de ne pas I am very sorry I haven't an old friend you t'avoir écrit depuis si written for so long. haven't contacted longtemps. for a while Used when writing to Cela fait trop longtemps It's such a long time since an old friend you que l'on ne s'est pas we had any contact. haven't contacted contacté. for a long time 15 E-Mail: Main Body I am writing to tell you that... Je t'écris pour te dire que... Used when you have important news Used when you want Have you made any plans to invite someone to As-tu des plans pour...? for...? an event or meet up with them Used when thanking someone for sending something / inviting Many thanks for sending / Merci pour someone inviting / enclosing... l'invitation......... somewhere / enclosing some information Used when sincerely thanking someone I am very grateful to you Je te suis très for telling you for letting me know / reconnaissant de m'avoir something / offering offering / writing... dit /offert / écrit... you something / writing to you regarding something Used when you sincerely appreciate Ce fut très aimable de ta It was so kind of you to something someone part de m'écrire / inviter / write / invite / send... wrote to you / envoyer... invited you to / sent you Used when I am delighted to J'ai la joie de vous announcing good announce that... annoncer que... news to friends I was delighted to hear J'ai eu la joie d'apprendre Used when relaying that... que... a message or news Used when I am sorry to inform you J'ai le regret de vous announcing bad that... informer que... news to friends Used when I was so sorry to hear Je fus désolé d'apprendre comforting a friend that... que... regarding bad news that they had I'd appreciate it if you J'apprécierais si tu pouvais Used when wanting would check out my new faire un tour sur mon a friend to see your website at... nouveau site internet... new website Please add me Ajoute-moi sur...s'il te Used when wanting on...messenger. My plaît. Mon pseudo c'est... a friend to add you username is... on an instant messenger service, so that you can communicate more 16 often E-Mail: Closing Used when you want Give my love to...and tell Transmets mon amour to tell someone you them how much I miss à...et dis lui qu'il / elle me miss them via the them. manque. recipient of the letter Used when adding ...sends his/her love. ...envoie ses salutations. someone else's regards to a letter Used when wanting to acknowledge Say hello to...for me. Dis bonjour à...de ma part. someone else via the person to whom you are writing Used when you want I look forward to hearing Dans l'attente d'une lettre to recieve a letter in from you soon. de ta part... reply Direct, used when Write back soon. Écris-moi vite. you want to receive a letter in reply Used when you want the recipient to reply Do write back when... Écris-moi quand... only when they have news of something Used when you want Send me news, when you Envoie-moi des nouvelles the recipient to reply know anything more. quand tu en sauras plus. only when they have news of something Used when writing to Take care. Prends soin de toi. family and friends Used when writing to I love you. Je t'aime. your partner Informal, used Best wishes, Tous mes voeux, between family, friends or colleagues Informal, used when With best wishes, Meilleurs voeux, writing to family or friends Informal, used when Kindest regards, Meilleures salutations, writing to family or friends Informal, used when All the best, Bonne chance, writing to family or friends All my love, Je t'envoie tout mon Informal, used when amour, writing to family or 17 Lots of love, Mes amours, Much love, Mes amours, friends Informal, used when writing to family Informal, used when writing to family Personal Announcements and Invitations (English-French) ENGLISH FRENCH DESCRIPTION Announcements and Invitations: Birth Used when a couple Nous sommes heureux de We are happy to announce want to announce vous annoncer la the birth of... the birth of their naissance de... child Je suis ravi de vous I'm happy to tell you Used when a third annoncer que...ont that...now have a little party is announcing désormais un petit son/daughter. the birth of a child garçon / une petite fille. Nous souhaitons vous Used when a couple We would like to announce annoncer la naissance de want to announce the birth of our new baby notre petit garçon / petite the birth of their boy/girl. fille. child Used when a couple want to announce We are delighted to Nous avons le bonheur de the birth of their introduce you to...our new vous présenter... notre child, usually found son/daughter. petit garçon / petite fille. on cards with a picture of the child Ten little fingers, ten little (prénom du bébé), le... A common saying in toes, and with these new à...heures.Depuis neuf English, used when a digits our family grows. ... mois, ils ne parlent que de couple want to and ... are delighted to moi. Maintenant, ils announce the birth announce the birth of... risquent de m'entendre. of their child Used when a couple Nous accueuillons...avec With love and hope we want to announce beaucoup d'amour et welcome...to the world. the birth of their d'espoir. child We're proud to Used when a couple Nous sommes fiers de introduce/announce the want to announce vous annoncer l'arrivée newest member of our the birth of their de...dans notre famille. family... child We are overjoyed to Nous avons l'immense Used when a couple announce the arrival of plaisir de vous annoncer want to announce our son/daughter. l'arrivée de notre fils / the birth of their 18 fille... child Announcements and Invitations: Engagement Used when announcing an engagement Used when a couple ...are happy to announce ...sont heureux de vous want to announce their engagement. annoncer leurs fiançailles. their engagement Nous sommes heureux de Used when We are happy to announce vous annoncer les announcing an the engagement of...and... fiançailles de...et... engagement Mr and Mrs...of ..., Mr et Traditional, used announce the engagement Mme...de...annoncent les when parents want of their daughter, ..., to ..., fiançailles de leur fille, ..., to announce the son of Mr and Mrs..., (also) avec ..., fils de Mr et engagment of their of... . An August wedding Mme...de... Le mariage est daughter is planned. prévu pour août. Come and join us at a Venez nous rejoindre à Used as in an party for...and...to une soirée pour...et...qui invitation to an celebrate their fêtent leurs fiançailles. engagement party engagement. You are cordially invited to Vous êtes cordialement Used as in an ... and ... engagement invités aux fiançailles invitation to an party on... de...et... engagement party ...and...are engaged. ... et...sont fiancés. Announcements and Invitations: Marriage We are happy to announce Nous sommes heureux de Used when the wedding/marriage of... vous annoncer le mariage announcing a and... de...et... marriage Used when Miss...is soon to become Mademoiselle...va bientôt announcing the Mrs. ... devenir Madame.... marriage of a woman Mademoiselle...et Miss...and Mr...kindly monsieur...vous invitent request your presence at cordialement à leur Used by the couple their wedding. You are mariage. Vous êtes les when inviting people welcome to come and bienvenus pour partager to their wedding enjoy the special day with cete journée spéciale avec them. eux. Mr and Mrs...request your Mr et Mme... vous invitent Used by the parents presence at the marriage au mariage de leur fils / of the man/woman of their son/daughter on... filles le...à... who is getting at... married to invite people to the 19 wedding Because you have been very important in their lives, ...and...request your presence at their wedding on...at... Parce que vous avez une Used by the couple place très importante dans when inviting close nos vies, ...et... vous friends to their prient d'assister à leur wedding mariage le...à... Announcements and Invitations: Gatherings / Special Ev...