Rgds formal?

Question

Hi everyone!

Is regards, or rgds a formal ending of an email? I was wondering what I should write as an ending when I'm chating with friends on the internet. I do not want to write a formal letter, I want to write something informal.

Usually my friends always writes "ciao", using Italian. I want to use English but not "cya" or "cu" like many of my friends do.

Should I use "rgds" or is that too formal?

Walter

MountainHiker · Accepted Answer

Regards is a bit formal for informal chats. You could simply say "bye" or "talk to you soon" or "talk to you later".... The list is endless. Regards is not overly formal, but there is a touch of formality. You could even continue to use your Italian word "ciao". We know what it means. It's informal and coming from you it will be perfectly natural.

Hope that helps.

MountainHiker

The_mystic_dude · Answer

Thanks, but I'd like to use English instead of Italian.

How about "rgds", is that as formal as "regards"?

rgds Walter

Marwat · Answer

I dont think so. Regards itself is a short word. I have not seen anyone using rgds.

ash

MrPedantic · Answer

"Rgds" is quite a common abbreviation for "Regards".

I wouldn't use "Regards" to a friend. It would sound a little chilly.

MrP

Anonymous · Answer

In England a lot of people use 'Regards' at the bottom of emails in business use. This is done so much so that many people seam to have it in their signature.

For more established, close relationships (eg. a internal emails, long-term clients/suppliers) then it is common to close with with 'Kind regards' or even 'Best wishes'.

For less formal or personal emails, I often close with 'Cheers' or 'Thanks'. Occasionally I use 'Many Thanks'.

I have to admit, 'Rgds' looks very tacky. It's a relatively short word already, unnecessarily abbreviated. Whilst email is a less formal medium than paper, you should still write in a proper manner.

Cheers,

Sam

Anonymous · Answer

I work for an international IT company, and 'regards' is the most commonly used 'sign off'. However I have seen an increasing number of emails with 'Rgds', particularly from members of the senior management team. I personally do not like it. I do not like words being abbreviated in an sms style, but it is becoming increasingly popular, certainly in our company.

When emailing friends, I think 'Thanks' can be appropriate, along with 'Cheers', 'See you soon', 'All the best' etc.. the list goes on, but these are probably my choices..

Good luck!!

Anonymous · Answer

"Rgds" could just as easily be an old-fashioned abbreviation, not an SMS neologism. Such abbreviations were common in correspondence of previous centuries. See also: "Yrs", etc., not to mention people abbreviating their own names: Robt., Wm., etc. Those who perceive "Rgds" as a tackily informal may be off base; if it's inappropriate for any reason, it's because it's anachronistic. In either case, I think it's inappropriate in any business correspondence in which you expect to be regarded as an adult of any seriousness. But in general, I think its quaintness makes it a little cheeky and I like it.

Those points notwithstanding, I would not use it in correspondence with a friend unless I were wryly affecting formality or anachronism. To the perfectly good closings others have posted, I would add the common and informal "Take care". Some of the edge can be taken off "regards", too, with "warm regards" and "kind regards", but those are still more apt for friendly acquaintances than for close friends.

(n.b. to punctuation purists: yes, i always put periods and commas outside quote marks, except in cases where the punctuation is applicable to the text being quoted. i just think it makes more sense and looks better. "DWI!")

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Rgds formal?

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