Formal email
A formal email is one where the structure carries the politeness: a clear subject line, a proper greeting, one paragraph of purpose, the details, the ask, and a clean sign-off. It is not about long words. Paste a rough draft below and get a formal version, or read the rules first and write it yourself.
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When a formal email is the right choice
First contact with someone you do not know. Anything going to a client, a lecturer, HR, a landlord, or a government office. Anything that may be forwarded or kept as a record: resignations, complaints, refund requests, approvals. Inside a familiar team, a semi-formal message is usually enough, and full formality can read as distance.
How to be formal without sounding unnatural
Keep sentences short and pick the plain word over the ceremonial one: 'I am writing to ask' beats 'I hereby wish to enquire'. Say who you are and what you want in the first two lines. Use one polite frame per message, not five. Replace demands with requests ('Could you confirm' rather than 'Confirm'), and keep contractions out of the opening and closing where they read as casual.
Subject lines, greetings, requests, follow-ups, closings
Subject: name the action, not the topic. 'Request to reschedule Thursday review' is scannable; 'Meeting' is not. Greeting: 'Dear Mr Tan' for first contact, 'Dear Aisyah' once you are in a thread, 'Bapak/Ibu' in Bahasa Indonesia. Request: state it in its own sentence with a date attached. Follow-up: reference the original message and the date, then repeat the ask in one line. Closing: 'Thank you for your time' plus 'Best regards' and your full name and role.
Informal to formal, word by word
'asap' becomes 'at your earliest convenience'. 'can u check' becomes 'could you please review'. 'sorry for the late reply' becomes 'thank you for your patience with my reply'. 'let me know' becomes 'please let me know'. 'thx' becomes 'thank you'. 'gw butuh' becomes 'saya membutuhkan'. 'tolong cek ya' becomes 'mohon dapat diperiksa'.
Examples
hey cant make the 3pm tomorrow, something came up. can we move it?
Subject: Request to Reschedule Tomorrow's 3 PM Meeting Dear Mr Harris, I hope you are well. I am writing to ask whether tomorrow's 3 PM meeting could be moved, as an unavoidable commitment has come up that afternoon. Would Thursday morning or Friday before noon suit you? I am happy to work around your schedule. Thank you for your understanding. Best regards, Daniel Reyes
just checking if you got my email last week about the invoice
Subject: Follow-Up: Invoice #2841 Sent 14 August Dear Ms Lim, I am following up on my email of 14 August regarding invoice #2841. I appreciate that things may have been busy. Could you kindly confirm whether the invoice has been received and when payment is expected? I am glad to resend the document if that would help. Thank you for your time. Best regards, Daniel Reyes
Frequently asked questions
- Is 'Dear Sir/Madam' still acceptable?
- Only when you genuinely cannot find a name. A named greeting almost always gets a better reply, so check the website or signature block first. 'Dear Hiring Team' is a better fallback than 'Dear Sir/Madam'.
- How long should a formal email be?
- Short enough to read on a phone without scrolling twice. Three or four short paragraphs is normal. If the detail is long, summarise the ask at the top and put the rest below or in an attachment.
- Do formal emails need to avoid contractions entirely?
- No, but keep them out of the first and last lines. 'I'm writing to ask' reads casually as an opener; 'I am writing to ask' sets the tone, after which a contraction mid-email is fine.
- Does the rewriter translate my Indonesian email?
- No. Indonesian text stays in Indonesian, with the sapaan and formality local work and campus email expects, such as Bapak/Ibu and mohon.
The tool behind this page
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