Which one should you use?
While cordialement is the standard, you can use bien cordialement to make the closing feel slightly more warm or formal, meaning "very kind regards". For very high-level formal correspondence or when writing to someone of much higher status, you should use salutations distinguées instead of cordialement.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
cordialement is considered a neutral to formal expression suitable for professional emails and letters. If you wish to be more formal, you can use Cordiales salutations for "Warm regards" or the much more elaborate Je vous prie d'agréer, madame/monsieur, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées which means "Please accept, madam/sir, the expression of my distinguished regards". Conversely, for informal situations, you might use Amicalement (Warmly/Fondly) or Bien à toi (Sincerely yours).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, Canada, cordialement is widely recognized and appropriate and it is also common to use the formal closing Sincères salutations.
How does it change in a sentence?
cordialement is an adverb. The suffix -ment is the French equivalent of the English suffix -ly, meaning the word translates to "cordially".
How do you pronounce it?
/kɔʁ.djal.mɑ̃/
Did you know?
- The word cordialement shares a common ancestor with the English word 'heart', as both stem from the Latin 'cor', meaning 'heart'.
- In French, using cordialement in a highly formal letter to a high-ranking official can actually be perceived as slightly brusque or even cold.
- In French, the closing Bien à toi is used only with people you address as tu, while cordialement can be used with anyone addressed as vous.
Examples in context
- Cordialement.Kind regards.This example shows how to use cordialement as a standalone closing.Tatoeba #6778328 by Fabimaru, translation #11939578 by Fenrir
Example conversation
Lucas is asking Manon about an email she sent to a client.
- LucasAs-tu terminé l'e-mail pour le client ?Did you finish the email for the client?
- ManonOui, j'ai fini de l'écrire.Yes, I finished writing it.
- LucasEst-ce que tu as utilisé cordialement à la fin ?Did you use kind regards at the end?
- ManonOui, c'est ce que j'ai fait.Yes, that is what I did.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “kind regards” translations and entries cordialement, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cordialement, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
