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Bubr Posted 23 years ago
Letter Writing
Male or Female?
Hello everyone again!
Recently I came across a delicate problem - I needed to write a message to a person whose name was known to me, however, the first name was very unusual, and it was impossible to tell whether it was a male or a female one. So I began my letter with 'Dear Sir/Madam' with subsequent apologises about this manner of addressing and confessions that I didn't know his/her uncommon name gender. It finished ok for the person said: 'No problem, I'm female', but does anyone know another way? I mean, how do you start a letter when you know the person's name (so you can't use 'To whom it may concern') but don't know sex?
Regards,
Bubr.
Recently I came across a delicate problem - I needed to write a message to a person whose name was known to me, however, the first name was very unusual, and it was impossible to tell whether it was a male or a female one. So I began my letter with 'Dear Sir/Madam' with subsequent apologises about this manner of addressing and confessions that I didn't know his/her uncommon name gender. It finished ok for the person said: 'No problem, I'm female', but does anyone know another way? I mean, how do you start a letter when you know the person's name (so you can't use 'To whom it may concern') but don't know sex?
Regards,
Bubr.
Top answer
That is a very delicate situation, indeed!
- That is a very delicate situation, indeed!
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21 Answers
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I thought it would be better to add that it was impossible to pretent that I didn't know the name because I recieved an email from her several days before.
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Actually, I mentioned it in the message that started the thread. In the end I wrote: 'Dear Madam/Sir!', apologised for this kind of addressing, and admitted I didn't know if her name was male or female. She replied 'No problem, I'm female', but I am afraid that someone more tetchy could have been insulted.
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What I usually do is I just use their full name (Dear James Smith) without any titles, and then you could ask them to clarify. I believe this is better than using Dear Sir/Madam as you HAVE already known what their name is.
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To tell the truth, I considered the form you suggested, but I wasn't sure if it was possible to use both first and last names after 'Dear'. Yes, I think 'Dear James Smith' is more polite. Thanks.
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Yes, I know some people would argue that that is an incorrect usage, and honestly I do not know whether it is correct or not.
I do a lot of correspondence too and since my name is not so common either, well at least for the English-speaking people, some people who sent emails to me they just used Dear FirstName LastName. I am totally fine with it, in fact now I use it a lot and so far it wo
I do a lot of correspondence too and since my name is not so common either, well at least for the English-speaking people, some people who sent emails to me they just used Dear FirstName LastName. I am totally fine with it, in fact now I use it a lot and so far it wo
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So, everybody feels fine about it; consequently, this usage is correct. Otherwise, the term 'correct' should be re-defined
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to whom it may concern hello im trying to find what name is this related to male or female the name is NISHITH
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Hi,
The traditional way of writing to someone whose *** you don't know was simply 'Dear Sir'. Some people still do this today, and I'd venture to say that many women today would not be offended to receive a letter addressed in that manner. I wouldn't be offended to receive a letter addressing me as 'Dear Madam'.
It just seems like such a small matter to get greatly concerned abou
The traditional way of writing to someone whose *** you don't know was simply 'Dear Sir'. Some people still do this today, and I'd venture to say that many women today would not be offended to receive a letter addressed in that manner. I wouldn't be offended to receive a letter addressing me as 'Dear Madam'.
It just seems like such a small matter to get greatly concerned abou
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