Things to not write or say in English

Probably the most unintentionally impolite and dismissive way you can start an email or letter in English is by writing “Dear,” as the entire greeting line. For example:

"Dear,

I am writing to let you know..."

If you don’t know the person’s name, you really need to take the time to look for their name at the end of their email, or otherwise search for it on the internet. However, if you really don’t know or can’t find the person’s name, it is far better to use “Dear Sir or Madam,” (even if it sounds too formal in the circumstances) or perhaps something like, “Dear colleague” or “Dear xxx team”. If you’re writing something very informal, you could also start with “Hello,” (which doesn’t need a name after it).

In the same way, an unintentionally impolite thing to say is “Wait!”.  This is something I often hear, and whilst your friends may know you’re not being rude, a stranger or colleague might not. So what can you say instead? There are various possibilities, and some of these are:

• “Hold on” (Can be used in both formal and informal situations.)
• “Wait a minute” (less formal).
• “Please hold” (when you’re asking someone to wait on the phone).

Which leads me to talking further about the word “please”. Firstly, as we all know, the British have a reputation for being (too) polite, so it usually quite important to add “please” after a request, particularly in work or formal situations.

Secondly, and contrary to popular belief, the following uses of “please” are not correct:

• “Please!” When you’re giving something to somebody.

Instead, you can say: “Here you are” or “There you are”.

Equally, a more informal way to say this is “Here you go” or “There you go”.

• “Please?” When you’d like someone to repeat something.

Instead you can say: “Can you repeat that please?” or “Say that again?” (Less formal).

• “Please!” When you actually mean “With pleasure” or “You’re welcome”.

So, now that I’ve let you know about some things to not say in English, are there any words or phrases that are fine in English, but not when they’re translated to another language? If so, I’d love to hear about them. That way, we can help each other! Thank you 😊