с наилу́чшими пожела́ниями
s nailúčšimi poželánijami
The English phrase "best regards" can be translated into Russian as с наилу́чшими пожела́ниями (s nailúčšimi poželánijami). Wiktionary also lists с уваже́нием (s uvažénijem).
Meaning: polite closing of a letter (noun)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| с наилу́чшими пожела́ниями | s nailúčšimi poželánijami |
| с уваже́нием | s uvažénijem |
These phrases are used as polite closings at the end of letters or emails to express goodwill or respect to the recipient.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase с наилу́чшими пожела́ниями literally means "with best wishes". The phrase с уваже́нием literally translates to "with respect".
Which one should you use?
While both are used for closings, с уваже́нием is the standard, more formal way to close a professional email or letter, equivalent to "Sincerely" or "Respectfully". In contrast, с наилу́чшими пожела́ниями is slightly warmer and less stiff, making it a closer match to "Best regards".
How does it change in a sentence?
Both с наилу́чшими пожела́ниями and с уваже́нием use the instrumental case to follow the preposition с (with).
How do you pronounce it?
s nailúčšimi poželánijami
Did you know?
- Using the warmer с наилу́чшими пожела́ниями with a high-ranking official can be perceived as condescending if the relationship is not already established.
- In very formal Russian correspondence, people often follow с уваже́нием with a comma, but traditionalists argue this is a mistake caused by the influence of English punctuation.
- The preposition с used in these phrases is inherited from the Proto-Slavic root *sъ(n), which originally denoted proximity or togetherness.
Example sentences for Russian are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “best regards” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries с, CC BY-SA 4.0.
