Emailing a Chinese Contact: Make the Request Clear

Use a clear subject, an appropriate form of address and a specific request.

A practical structure#

Identify yourself, explain why you are writing and state the question or action you need. If timing matters, include the date and time zone rather than an ambiguous relative day.

Before sending#

Check the recipient, names, attachments and your contact’s preferred language. This is an editorial writing checklist, not a claim that all Chinese organizations require one greeting, one email length or a fixed reply deadline.

Useful words#

Editorial scope and lexical reference#

The checklist is editorial advice. The source below supports the word meanings, not a claim that these suggestions are rules followed by all Chinese people. No interview, survey or measured effectiveness is asserted.

Lexical data adapted from CC-CEDICT contributors / MDBG, 23 October 2026 release, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Dictionary release.