# 最诚挚的问候, 商祺



## TheUnitedStatesOfEurope

Hi everyone,

do you know the difference between:
最诚挚的问候
 and
商祺

I know that the second one is more business-oriented, but is the first one better? Or more formal ? Or more elegant / sophisticated?

Thanks.
Cheers,


----------



## lovin4u

The literal meaning of 商祺 is 商：经商；祺：吉祥；即，祝经商顺利的意思。Sure, it is better in formal business. But actually, nobody would care what you said at the end of letter, it's the same in English that you say My sincerely, best regards, cheers.


----------



## NewAmerica

The second is *specifically *used between businessmen to convey their best regards: May your business be prosperous (商祺).
  While the first can be used generally by any one in any profession: Best regards! (最诚挚的问候！)


----------



## SuperXW

What I know is wordings like 敬祝商祺. I thought 商祺 only meant "business being prosperous", and "I wish" part seems missing. Doesn't 商祺 sound unnatural by itself?


----------



## TheUnitedStatesOfEurope

Thanks lovin4u for your interesting Input. 
However, I *utterly* disagree regarding what you wrote: "[...] nobody would care [...], it's the same in English that you say My sincerely, best regards, cheers". 

In the USA, perhaps nobody care, but in the UK, people do care!

- Yours sincerely (formal without first contact)
- Yours faithfully (formal, yet you already met the Person or know the Person a bit)
- Best regards (a bit more cordial)
- Kind regards (cordial)
- Regards (familiar, you know the personn well)
- Cheers (used with friends or Close Business contacts - used at a much lesser extent in the USA)
- Cheerio (very familiar way to say cheers - very British)

In the UK, People will use more stuff like: "I allow myself to...[ex: send you an email]" or "May you please [ex: confirm the meeting?]" or "it might be...[ex: a problem]" rahter than: "I send you this email" or "can you confirm the meeting?" or "it is a problem", which are much more direct and don´t reflect the British culture/way of thinking or British courtesy of language.


----------



## TheUnitedStatesOfEurope

Super XW, thanks for the Input! I didn´t that 商祺 was a contraction of 敬祝商祺.


----------



## NewAmerica

SuperXW said:


> What I know is wordings like 敬祝商祺. I thought 商祺 only meant "business being prosperous", and "I wish" part seems missing. Doesn't 商祺 sound unnatural by itself?



    这是你见过的一种格式；我见过的最常见格式是：
*此致
                 商祺*
    即跟
*  此致
                 敬礼*
     一样。对喜欢简洁格局的人来说，比“顺颂商祺”好（注意排版，两行位置错开，本论坛编辑器把我的排版自动取消了）。当然”此致、商祺“只用于商业函件或对方是商人。
  相应尾语如：
*   此致
        （春夏秋冬）祺 * （按相应季节取一字）

     诚然，对中文是外语的学习者，只让他/她记得一种常见格式也好，谁让中文如此复杂呢？简直把大多数的老外吓得魂飞魄散。


----------



## fyl

I don't think the first one 最诚挚的问候 is more formal or more elegant. I think it sounds a bit awkward if it appears in writing. It's a phrase made up with both formal words and spoken structure. My impression is that this phrase often appears in public speeches, e.g. a leader giving his/her "most sincere greetings" to listeners.


----------



## NewAmerica

fyl said:


> I don't think the first one 最诚挚的问候 is more formal or more elegant. I think it sounds a bit awkward if it appears in writing. It's a phrase made up with both formal words and spoken structure. My impression is that this phrase often appears in public speeches, e.g. a leader giving his/her "most sincere greetings" to listeners.



 A form of greetings used by leadership of any profession, that was what I had in my mind.


----------



## SuperXW

NewAmerica said:


> 这是你见过的一种格式；我见过的最常见格式是：
> *此致
> 商祺*
> 即跟
> *  此致
> 敬礼*
> 一样。对喜欢简洁格局的人来说，比“顺颂商祺”好（注意排版，两行位置错开，本论坛编辑器把我的排版自动取消了）。当然”此致、商祺“只用于商业函件或对方是商人。
> 相应尾语如：
> *   此致
> （春夏秋冬）祺 * （按相应季节取一字）
> 
> 诚然，对中文是外语的学习者，只让他/她记得一种常见格式也好，谁让中文如此复杂呢？简直把大多数的老外吓得魂飞魄散。


但如果前面什么都没有，只有“商祺”二字，不对劲吧？


----------



## Skatinginbc

TheUnitedStatesOfEurope said:


> 最诚挚的问候


It sounds like a loan translation (as if from English "Sincerely" or "Best wishes") if used as a letter closing (e.g., ....非常感谢您的支持照顧。 最诚挚的问候，XX公司).  To sound natural to my ears, it has to be incorporated in a complete sentence, for example, 最後在此代表公司向全体员工及家属致以最诚挚的问候與祝福.


----------



## NewAmerica

SuperXW said:


> 但如果前面什么都没有，只有“商祺”二字，不对劲吧？



可以考虑两个方面：一是语词意指对象的解读；二是心理定格后解读趋向。

*（一）语词意指对象的解读
*
  当看到“顺颂商祺”字样，读取信函的人自然想到这是对方祝愿我方生意兴隆，此时意指对象明确：阅读方。如果看到只有“商祺”两字会怎样？其含义无非三种：a）对方祝愿我方生意兴隆；b）对方祝愿自己生意兴隆；c）祝双方生意兴隆。无论哪一种都是令人愉快的。 这正是这种用法的意义所在。写时只祝对方生意兴隆而不祝愿自己，这有悖双赢原则；但祝愿自己的话又不能明说，因为那太缺乏幽默感了，于是就选用“此致——商祺”格式，含蓄而别有意味，可谓适到好处。

*（二）心理定格后解读趋向

*双方交往相当长的一段时间后，就会成为同一商业圈子内的自然成员；用辞会呈简化趋势，圈内行话开始形成。开始时用“此致——顺颂商祺（顺颂生意兴隆）”格式，现在用“此致——商祺”，阅读仍然会自然想到这是对方祝愿我方生意兴隆；这就是心理定格后的自然解读趋向，这种趋向可以完整阐释语辞隐含的意义。简洁格式或行话有利于节省时间精力提高效率，

（供参考）


----------



## SuperXW

NewAmerica said:


> 可以考虑两个方面：一是语词意指对象的解读；二是心理定格后解读趋向。
> 
> *（一）语词意指对象的解读
> *
> ……于是就选用“此致——商祺”格式，含蓄而别有意味，可谓适到好处。
> 
> *（二）心理定格后解读趋向
> 
> ……*开始时用“此致——顺颂商祺（顺颂生意兴隆）”格式，现在用“此致——商祺”，阅读仍然会自然想到这是对方祝愿我方生意兴隆；这就是心理定格后的自然解读趋向，这种趋向可以完整阐释语辞隐含的意义。简洁格式或行话有利于节省时间精力提高效率，


同意，但是如果连“此致”也没有呢……？


----------



## NewAmerica

SuperXW said:


> 同意，但是如果连“此致”也没有呢……？



此致必须有，否则不自然：



> NewAmerica said:
> 我见过的最常见格式是：
> *此致
> 商祺*


----------



## lovin4u

TheUnitedStatesOfEurope said:


> Thanks lovin4u for your interesting Input.
> However, I *utterly* disagree regarding what you wrote: "[...] nobody would care [...], it's the same in English that you say My sincerely, best regards, cheers".
> 
> In the USA, perhaps nobody care, but in the UK, people do care!
> 
> - Yours sincerely (formal without first contact)
> - Yours faithfully (formal, yet you already met the Person or know the Person a bit)
> - Best regards (a bit more cordial)
> - Kind regards (cordial)
> - Regards (familiar, you know the personn well)
> - Cheers (used with friends or Close Business contacts - used at a much lesser extent in the USA)
> - Cheerio (very familiar way to say cheers - very British)
> 
> In the UK, People will use more stuff like: "I allow myself to...[ex: send you an email]" or "May you please [ex: confirm the meeting?]" or "it might be...[ex: a problem]" rahter than: "I send you this email" or "can you confirm the meeting?" or "it is a problem", which are much more direct and don´t reflect the British culture/way of thinking or British courtesy of language.



Thank you for your kindly correction. That's the beauty of different cultures. 
I think for a business guy, a precise wording is needed to avoid any mistakes, maybe it's the cause to win a deal.


----------

