Business Email in English: 8 Pro Templates + 常用句型 (2026) | 商業英文書信

The average office worker gets around 120 emails a day, and most are skimmed in under nine seconds. That is the real challenge with a business email in English: not grammar, but getting a busy reader to understand what you want before they scroll past. Taiwanese professionals already write clear emails in Chinese every day — the gap is a handful of English phrases and one habit: say the point first, then explain. This guide gives you eight templates you can copy today, the opening and closing lines that sound natural, and the polite request patterns that get replies instead of silence.

The 5-Part Structure of a Business Email in English (商業英文書信結構)

Every effective business email in English follows the same skeleton, whether you are writing to a client in London or a supplier in Kaohsiung. Learn the five parts once and you never stare at a blank screen again.

1. Subject line (主旨): six to eight words that name the topic and the action — “Meeting request: Q3 budget review.”
2. Greeting (稱呼): “Dear Ms. Lin,” for formal, “Hi David,” for a colleague.
3. Purpose line (開場目的): one sentence stating why you are writing. Put it first, not last.
4. Body (內容): two or three short paragraphs with the details, dates, and any question.
5. Closing + sign-off (結尾與署名): a polite line, then “Best regards,” and your name.

Western readers expect the request up front. A Chinese email often builds context before the ask; an English one flips that order. Lead with “I’m writing to confirm Friday’s shipment,” then give the background. This single change does more for clarity than any vocabulary list.

How Do You Start a Professional Email? (開頭問候與稱呼)

Start with the right greeting, then a purpose line — never a long apology or a weather comment. For a first contact or a senior person, “Dear Mr. Chen,” is safe. For a coworker, “Hi Amy,” works. Skip “Dear Sir or Madam” unless you truly have no name; it reads as cold and dated.

After the greeting, one of these opening lines will fit almost any situation:

• “I hope you’re well.” — friendly, neutral, fine for most emails.
• “Thank you for your quick reply.” — when you are answering someone.
• “I’m writing to ask about…” — when you need something.
• “Following up on our call this morning…” — after a meeting or phone chat.

Notice none of them waste a line. If you want to sharpen the spoken version of these same situations, our guide to phone English phrases for work covers the exact moment an email turns into a call.

8 Business Email Templates You Can Copy (8 個英文 email 範本)

Here are eight templates covering the situations that come up most at work. Copy the structure, swap in your details, and adjust the tone up or down. Each one keeps the request in the first two lines.

1. Requesting a meeting (約會議)

“Hi Sarah, I’d like to set up a 30-minute call to review the Q3 numbers. Are you free Wednesday or Thursday afternoon? Happy to work around your schedule.”

2. Following up (跟進)

“Hi James, I’m following up on the proposal I sent last Tuesday. Have you had a chance to look it over? I’m glad to answer any questions.”

3. Apologizing for a delay (為延遲致歉)

“Hi Ms. Wang, apologies for the late reply — I was out of the office. Here is the report you asked for, and I’ve highlighted the two changes.”

4. Making an introduction (介紹雙方)

“Hi both, I’d like to introduce you. Kevin leads our design team; Lisa runs marketing at ABC Co. I’ll let you two take it from here.”

5. Asking for information (詢問資訊)

“Hi David, could you send me the final invoice figures by Friday? I need them to close the month. Thanks so much for your help.”

6. Declining politely (婉拒)

“Hi Anna, thank you for thinking of me. I won’t be able to join this round, but please keep me in mind for the next one.”

7. Sending a reminder (提醒)

“Hi team, a quick reminder that timesheets are due by 5 p.m. today. Let me know if you hit any problems.”

8. Thanking and closing a thread (道謝結尾)

“Hi Peter, thanks for turning this around so fast. Everything looks good on my end — I’ll take it from here. Have a great weekend.”

Want to hear these patterns spoken aloud? This short lesson walks through the same structure step by step:

Formal vs. Casual: Getting the Tone Right (正式 vs 非正式)

Tone is where most mistakes happen. Too stiff and you sound like a robot; too casual and you seem careless with a client. The safe default for anyone you don’t know well is “polite but plain.” Save contractions and exclamation marks for colleagues you talk to every day.

The table below shows the same message at three levels. Match the level to your reader, not to how nervous you feel.

One rule that never fails: match the other person’s tone. If a client writes “Hi” and signs with their first name, you can relax to the same level. Mirroring their style is safer than guessing.

How Do You Politely Ask for Something in English? (禮貌請求句型)

Politeness in English comes from softening words, not from length. A short, warm request beats a long, formal one. The trick is to turn a command into a question and add a cushion word like “could,” “would,” or “please.”

Compare these three ways to ask for the same thing:

• Too direct: “Send me the file today.” (sounds like an order)
• Polite: “Could you send me the file today? Thanks.” (a request)
• Very polite: “Would you mind sending the file by end of day? I’d really appreciate it.” (for a senior person or a big favour)

Two phrases carry most of the weight in a business email in English: “Could you…” for everyday asks and “Would you be able to…” when you need something bigger or you are writing up the chain. Add “when you get a chance” to show you respect their time, and you rarely sound pushy.

How to End a Business Email (結尾與署名)

The ending does two jobs: it points to the next step and it leaves a professional impression. Close with a specific action, not a vague “let me know.” Try “I’ll send the contract by Thursday” or “Let me know if Friday works.” Then choose a sign-off that matches your tone.

• Formal: “Best regards,” / “Kind regards,” / “Sincerely,”
• Neutral: “Thanks,” / “Many thanks,” / “All the best,”
• Casual: “Cheers,” / “Talk soon,”

Skip “Yours faithfully” and “Yours truly” — they feel like a paper letter from 1995. And always put your name, even if your signature is set up automatically; it reads warmer than a blank stop.

Subject Lines That Actually Get Opened (主旨怎麼寫)

The subject line decides whether your email gets opened at all, yet it is the part most people write last and fastest. A good subject names the topic and the action in six to eight words. “Question” tells the reader nothing; “Question about Friday’s shipment date” tells them everything.

Use these patterns and your open rate climbs on its own:

• Action + topic: “Approval needed: March expense report”
• Deadline built in: “Reply by Wed: venue options for the launch”
• Reference a shared moment: “Following up from today’s call”

If your email is urgent, say so in the subject, not in red font or three exclamation marks. “Time-sensitive: contract signature by 3 p.m.” respects the reader and still gets the reply you need fast.

7 Email Mistakes Taiwanese Professionals Make (常見錯誤)

These are the errors I see most often from strong English speakers in Taiwan — none of them are about vocabulary, and all of them are easy to fix once you notice the pattern.

1. Burying the ask. Three paragraphs of background, then the request at the bottom. Flip it — request first.
2. Over-apologizing. “Sorry to bother you, so sorry, apologies again” weakens you. One “sorry” is plenty.
3. Translating “麻煩你” literally. “Trouble you to…” doesn’t work in English. Use “Could you please…” instead.
4. Walls of text. One giant paragraph is hard to skim. Break it into two or three short ones.
5. Vague subject lines. “Hi” or “Question” gets ignored. Name the topic.
6. Skipping the greeting. Jumping straight into text feels abrupt to a Western reader. Always open with a name.
7. Forgetting the next step. End with who does what by when, so nobody has to write back just to ask.

Fixing these seven habits will do more for how you come across at work than memorizing another fifty phrases. Clear beats fancy every time. If your role involves formal requests like time off, our breakdown of leave-request English and email templates gives you ready-made wording for those tricky moments, and the workplace idioms guide helps the rest of your writing sound natural.

Your Next Email Starts Here

Pick one template from this guide and use it on the very next email you send — that is how the patterns stick, not by reading them twice. Within a week the structure becomes automatic and you stop translating in your head. Save this page, keep the eight templates open in a tab, and let your English emails do the quiet work of making you look sharp before you even walk into the room. When the message is too important for text, that is your cue to switch to a call and speak with the same confidence.

Sources (參考資料)

1. British Council LearnEnglish — English for Emails — greetings, structure, and interactive email exercises.
2. Grammarly — Comment rédiger un courriel professionnel — tone, formatting, and closing conventions.
3. Purdue OWL — Email Etiquette — subject lines, greetings, and professional register.