Japanese covering letter (添え状)
Posting a résumé, an invoice or papers in Japan? This is the page expected on top.
Enclosed
What is enclosedHow many
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Preview
Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.
How it works
- Choose what you are sending: the wording and the list of enclosures are filled in for it.
- Type who it goes to, and choose 様 for a person or 御中 for a company.
- Type your own address and name.
- Change any line you want, then download the PDF and put it on top of the documents.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a covering letter really expected?
- For anything posted to a company in Japan, yes — documents arriving with no letter read as brusque. It is one page, and it says who sent what and why.
- Why is there no seasonal greeting?
- The opening used here (拝啓 時下ますますご清栄…) is the all-season one, which is correct in any month and is what most business letters use.
- What are 記 and 以上?
- The list of enclosures opens with 記 in the middle of the page and closes with 以上 on the right. It is the standard way of listing in a Japanese letter.
- Is anything uploaded?
- No, and the letter never carries the free plan’s footer.
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