Japanese Email Openings: Addressing Someone Formally in Business Mail
Learn how to open a formal Japanese email, from the company-name line to the personal address, and choose the right greeting for a new contact, a colleague, or a superior.
By LiamCulture & nuance · Yapr Learn
In English, a formal email often begins with a single line: Dear Mr. Smith. Japanese business email usually opens with a short block of set elements: the recipient's company, their name with the correct suffix, and a greeting formula that matches your relationship. This lesson focuses only on those opening lines. You will learn the standard order, the difference between sama and onchū, and how to write a first-contact greeting without sounding either cold or overfamiliar. Closings are not covered here.
By the end, you can…
- write the opening block of a formal Japanese email in the correct order
- choose between sama and onchū based on whether I am addressing a person or an organization
- write a first-contact greeting using hajimemashite and yoroshiku onegai itashimasu
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
株式会社山田商事 山田太郎様
Yamada Trading Co., Ltd., Mr. Taro Yamada
Kabushiki gaisha Yamada Shōji Yamada Tarō-sama
The standard opening block: company name first, then personal name with sama. Used at the very top of the message body, before any greeting.
山田様
Dear Mr. Yamada
Yamada-sama
When you already know the person and the company name is unnecessary, the surname plus sama is enough. This is the closest equivalent to 'Dear Mr. Yamada'.
お世話になっております。
Thank you for your continued support. / I appreciate your help.
Osewa ni natte orimasu.
The default business greeting for someone you already deal with. Use it after the name line and before the body. It is not used for a complete stranger.
はじめまして。突然のご連絡失礼いたします。
Nice to meet you. Please excuse me for contacting you out of the blue.
Hajimemashite. Totsuzen no go-renraku shitsurei itashimasu.
For a first contact with no prior relationship. Hajimemashite marks the first meeting; the second sentence apologizes for the unexpected message.
いつもお世話になっております。
Thank you as always for your support.
Itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu.
A slightly warmer variant for a regular contact. It signals an ongoing relationship, so avoid it with someone you have never written to.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
A formal Japanese email opening follows a fixed vertical order: company name, personal name plus sama, then a greeting. For example: 株式会社山田商事 山田太郎様 / お世話になっております。 The company line uses the full official name, often with 株式会社 (kabushiki gaisha) at the front. The personal line uses the surname first, then the given name, then sama. If you are writing to a company or department rather than one person, use 御中 (onchū) after the organization name instead of sama, as in 山田商事 御中 (Yamada Shōji onchū). To address several individuals at once, use 各位 (kakui), as in 山田商事 各位.
When to use it
Choose the greeting by relationship. For a stranger, write はじめまして followed by an apology for the sudden contact. For an existing business partner, write お世話になっております。 For a superior inside your own company, the name line still takes sama, but the greeting may be いつもお世話になっております。 or simply omitted in very short internal mail. Never use お世話になっております。 with a first-time recipient: it presumes a relationship that does not yet exist.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
株式会社山田商事 山田太郎様
Yamada Trading Co., Ltd., Mr. Taro YamadaKabushiki gaisha Yamada Shōji Yamada Tarō-samaはい、山田です。お世話になっております。
Yes, this is Yamada. Thank you for your continued support.Hai, Yamada desu. Osewa ni natte orimasu.はじめまして。突然のご連絡失礼いたします。
Nice to meet you. Please excuse me for contacting you out of the blue.Hajimemashite. Totsuzen no go-renraku shitsurei itashimasu.いいえ、とんでもございません。
Not at all, no problem.Iie, tondemo gozaimasen.A little context goes a long way
Japanese business mail keeps the recipient's name above the greeting, so the reader sees who the message is for before reading any pleasantries. Sama is safe for almost any external recipient, including a company president. Onchū is used for a company or department as a whole, never after a personal name. When in doubt, use sama; using onchū after a person's name is a clear error.
One thing to watch for
Writing 山田太郎さん instead of 山田太郎様, or cramming the name and greeting onto one line with no break.
Try this instead: Use sama, not san, in business writing, and keep the opening block on separate lines: 株式会社山田商事 山田太郎様 / お世話になっております。 San is too casual for external formal mail, and cramming the name and greeting into one line looks rushed.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1You are writing to a new supplier, Mr. Sato at Kato Foods. Write the name line.
Show a sample answer
加藤食品 佐藤様
Company name first, then surname plus sama. Adding the given name is fine if you know it, but the surname alone is standard and safe.
2You have never contacted this person before. Which greeting do you use?
Show a sample answer
はじめまして。突然のご連絡失礼いたします。
Hajimemashite marks a first contact, and the apology covers the unexpected message. Osewa ni natte orimasu would wrongly assume an existing relationship.
3You are writing to an entire department, not one person. What replaces sama?
Show a sample answer
御中 (onchū)
Onchū addresses an organization or department as a whole, as in 加藤食品 御中. It cannot follow a personal name, so do not write 佐藤様御中.
Open formal Japanese email with the company name, then the person's name plus sama, then a greeting chosen by relationship: hajimemashite for a stranger, osewa ni natte orimasu for an existing contact.
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