Yours Faithfully / Yours Sincerely

[Paddy Gahuna]

My old English teacher taught us that, when ending a letter, use:

'Yours Faithfully' - for a recipient you have never met, and:
'Yours Sincerely' - for a recipient you know.

Is this true? The reason I ask is because, when taken literally,
'Yours faithfully' sounds just a little on the tossy side to me.

F.Y.I. - I'm writing a cover letter to an employer.

Thanks,

Yours Inquisitively,

Paddy

[Fazzu]

Hello Paddy,

I am glad that you have aroused this question before I did.Maybe,I think you use 'faithfully' to give an impression for the reader that you are trustworthy.For 'sincerely',I think since you have been a very sincere person to the reader you are still is.

I now would like to have others comments too.

[Tdol]

I use 'faithfully' when I don't use a name (Dear Sir or Madam) and 'sincerely' when I use a name, regardless of whether I know them or not. This is the traditional model I was taught for British letters.

[rewboss]

That is the standard, and correct, way to end a formal letter: "Yours sincerely" if you addressed the recipient by name, "Yours faithfully" otherwise.

Yes, taken literally, it does seem "a little on the tossy side", but really it's a convention. The convention was set at a time when it sounded perfectly fine; attitudes have changed since then, but the convention remains. Just think of it as a meaningless sequence of words that means: "Message ends".

Incidentally, this is the British convention. American convention is to use "Sincerely" (without "Yours") for any formal letter, regardless of whether you started with "Dear Mr. Hackenbacker" or "Dear sir or madam".

[dihen]

Are "Faithfully Yours" and "Sincerely Yours" correct?

[Avalon]

dihen, you amuse me! Here you go inverting things again!Is it possible?

[Ouisch]

Yours Faithfully and Yours Sincerely must be a BE style of formal business letters. In AE, the traditional complimentary closings are "Sincerely" or "Sincerely yours" or "Very truly yours." Only the first word is capitalized.

[rewboss]

Only the first word is capitalized.

I'm glad you mentioned that. The same is true for the British versions:

Yours sincerely,
Yours faithfully,

A long time ago, "Yours truly" was the standard way to end a personal letter. These days, of course, we live in much more relaxed times, and for personal letters you can sign off any way you like (within reason). Common phrases include "Best wishes," "Love from," "Regards," and many others.

[englishstudent]

I'm glad you mentioned that. The same is true for the British versions:
Yours sincerely,
Yours faithfully,
A long time ago, "Yours truly" was the standard way to end a personal letter. These days, of course, we live in much more relaxed times, and for personal letters you can sign off any way you like (within reason). Common phrases include "Best wishes," "Love from," "Regards," and many others.

I have seen some old ones (BE) addressed to the employer
ending with "Your obedient servant" !! And these are
to the manager in a bank, not a private employer.
I suspect this ending perhaps only existed in
some of the British colonies, and it may not be
actually used in England even in the old days.

[Tdol]

It does sound a bit excessive and creepy.