Kind regards and best regards are two of the most popular ways to close a business email, but choosing the right one can be tricky. In this post, we’ll explain the subtle difference between these sign-offs so you’ll always know which to use.
When you end a letter or email with kind regards, it shows politeness and respect to the recipient. Your regard for someone means your wishes or thoughts toward them, so writing kind regards shows that you think highly of this person and wish them well.
Kind regards is a semiformal sign-off, so you would use it for people that you don’t have an established relationship with. This could be anybody that you’re writing to for the first time, especially if they didn’t contact you first. You can also use kind regards when communicating with senior colleagues (e.g., your supervisor or manager.)
Kind regards can be considered rude if you usually use a more informal style with your recipient. If you generally use a casual sign-off such as cheers but suddenly switch to using kind regards, your recipient may interpret your tone as less familiar and friendly.
Best regards has a similar meaning to kind regards (i.e., courtesy and esteem) but is considered less formal. So, you should only use it with people you’re more familiar with, like colleagues you work alongside and customers you’ve communicated with before.
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If you’re not sure whether you know someone well enough to use best regards, we recommend going with kind regards. Many people just use regards, but it can sound unfriendly and abrupt.
Kind regards and best regards are two examples of friendly, flexible email sign-offs. They have more or less the same meaning—respect and good wishes—but kind regards is more formal.
So, you should use kind regards when writing to people you don’t know or those in a higher position than you. Best regards should be used when writing to those you have a familiar relationship with.
Hopefully, we’ve clarified how to use kind regards and best regards in your emails. To make sure your writing is the best it can be, you should let a professional proofread it. If you want to see what our proofreading team can do, send us a free trial document today.
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