此致…敬礼【cǐzhì … jìnglǐ】

此致敬礼 ends an application, a letter of thanks, a formal request – any letter to a school, an employer or an official body. 此致 is "with this I convey", and 敬礼 is "a respectful salute". It has no direct English equivalent; it does the job of "Yours faithfully".

The layout is part of the formula. 此致 starts its own line after the last sentence of the body, indented two characters like a new paragraph. 敬礼 goes on the next line flush with the left margin, with an exclamation mark. The writer's name and the date follow on the right. Quoted in running text, as in the examples here, the two lines run together.

The body usually ends with a request or thanks just before it, so the closing doesn't need to repeat them.

Other closings

A business letter often ends with 顺颂商祺 "with best wishes for your business". A letter to a teacher may use 祝 + a wish. Between friends, 此致敬礼 sounds stiff, and an email to a colleague ends with 谢谢 or 祝好.

Layout errors

• × writing 此致敬礼 on the last line of the body, straight after the final sentence
• × indenting 敬礼, or putting it on the same line as the name
• × leaving out the exclamation mark after 敬礼