# Slovak: Letter Closings (e.g. Best wishes...)



## Singha

Hi Everyone,

I have been learning a bit of Slovak so that I can write emails to my cousin in Bratislava.  I was wondering what some common letter closings are (i.e. translations of 'Best wishes' or something similar).  I've tried searching the internet but haven't come up with anything.  Thanks in advance!


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## Karton Realista

Since Slovak users are reluctant to answer/aren't present so often here I'll answer and then surely Slovaks will come to correct me 
As far as I'm aware you can just say "pozdrav" (greeting) or "s pozdravom" (with greeting). If you think it's apropriate you can use "s láskou" (with love). There are also some rather colloquial phrases like "maj sa" or "maj sa pekne". The dictionary says it's
"have a good time" and I know it isn't literally that, but I can't think of a better translation.
If you want to see some example letters, look here: list kamarátovi


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## By-the-sea

I see nobody else is answering. I think it really depends on what kind of relationship you have with your cousin. 
Some options (descending level of formality) are:
Srdečné zdravím
Maj sa krásne
Drž sa

The first of these is the most formal but it is used amongst people that you know perhaps slightly less well.

In my experience 'S pozdravom' is quite formal and only really used with people you don't know at all. In fact, the next email stage as you get to know the person better is often 'Srdečné zdravím'. However, I wouldn't use that with someone I know well, preferring either of the last two. 

But I am a learner like yourself so I can only go on my own experience. Hopefully a native speaker will chime in.


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## francisgranada

"S pozdravom" is surely formal, used mainly in official letters, with clients, business partners, etc ... When closing a letter/email to a cousin, "Maj sa krásne" and "Drž sa" (proposed by By-the-sea) seem to me ok. Also "Maj sa dobre/pekne" or even _nothing _(only your name) in case of a really informal relation may be good, in my my opinion ...


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## Singha

Thanks for all the replies.  After I started this thread, I found an article on Czech letter closings and read that the translation of 'best wishes' in Czech is 'mějte se moc hezky'.  I know that Czech and Slovak aren't entirely interchangeable, but is this phrase (or a variant of it) used in Slovak?  I've been writing to my cousin for a couple of years and previously, like francisgranada suggested, I've just signed with my name 'Danka'.


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## Enquiring Mind

Hi Singha, the natives don't seem to be around much at the moment, so here's my sixpence worth. We basically need a bit more context to establish what level of familiarity you are on with your cousin, and whether you are writing to one person or, by extension, to more than one, i.e. the person's whole family. As you've been learning some Slovak, you'll know about the Ty and Vy forms. Normally these days I'd expect cousins to be on the familiar first-name Ty footing. Does the cousin write to you in Slovak or include a Slovak greeting or sign-off that uses the Ty form? If so, that's the form to stick with.
_
Maj sa!_ (to one person with whom you're on familiar terms) I think, is more like_ see you!_ in English and I personally would avoid it in periodic letters, though it's fine for emails with people who you see (in person) regularly.

_Maj_ (_majte_ if more than one person) _sa pekne/krásne_ is _have a good time!_ in connection with a particular event; as a letter sign-off it is fine too in the equivalent sense (though that is not how it translates literally) of _(Wishing you) all the best! _
Then there's _Opatruj(te) sa!_ - _Look after yourself (yourselves)!, Mind how you go!, Take care!_,
_Ahoj(te)! _-_ Bye (for now)!_,
_Teším sa na Tvoje správy_ -_ Looking forward to hearing from you!
Ozvi sa!_ - D_on't forget to write!, Keep in touch! Let me know how you're getting on! Write soon!  _
There's also_ pa _or_ pa pa - bye _(very colloquial, what you usually say to a small child)
Zdraví XYZ. (XYZ is your name) - All the best, best regards, kind regards (Neutral, not formal and not over-friendly).

There are, of course, other lovey dovey-type sign-offs, but you wouldn't use them for a cousin.  The English equivalents I give are just that - equivalents to what we might write in English in my assumed similar context and degree of familiarity. They're not necessarily translations of the Slovak terms.


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## By-the-sea

Singha, if you like 'mějte se moc hezky' (but for more than one cousin cos it's plural) then the Slovak equivalent is Maj(te) sa krásne (hezky=pekne, and the next stage up is krásne so equivalent to moc hezky, moc being one of those strange words that doesn't have an exact Slovak equivalent).



Enquiring Mind said:


> Then there's _Opatruj(te) sa!_ - _Look after yourself (yourselves)!, Mind how you go!, Take care!_,



@Enquiring Mind - Just wondering if this is regional and whether you've come across it a lot?  I'm most familiar with central Slovak but have never heard it. I've come across the equivalent 'Daj na seba pozor' quite a bit, but more in speech and more if there's a particular reason to use it, if I'm travelling or climbing a treacherous mountain or something. But always keen to learn new phrases...


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## Enquiring Mind

Hi B-t-s, I don't think it's regional, and I can't say I hear it _a lot _in Slovak_. _We live in the Czech Republic a knedlík's throw from the Slovak border (and a long way from the sea ). The first time I heard it here a few years ago (in Czech), I thought it was a direct calque of the English spoken for my benefit, but I certainly hear the Czech phrase frequently enough (often at the end of mobile phone calls), and when we were last in East Slovakia (Tatras and Spiš district two months ago) it was said to us. I've heard it at the end of Slovak mobile phone conversations too, and chance upon it on Slovak blogs and discussion forums so it's legit, but it would certainly be good to get some natives' input.


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## By-the-sea

Thanks Enquiring Mind. Sounds like a calque to me too and very unnatural - that's why I was curious. Will keep an ear open in the not so distant future when I leave my sea gazing spot for hotter, less bracing, climes...


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## Singha

@Enquiring Mind:  My cousin always writes to me in English and I respond in Slovak so I don't really have anything to go by in terms of Slovak letter closings.  The correspondence is quite informal so, yes, I use the Ty forms.  

Thanks again for all the input.  I will definitely use some of the suggested phrases in my writing.


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## morior_invictus

This can be pretty subjective and depends on the level of familiarity you are on with the recipient, one's age, etc., but here's my two cents' worth:

*Pozdrav* – no ; "pozdrav" is a noun that is not used as a letter closing
*S pozdravom* - I agree that it is mostly used in formal situations (job applications,...), however, it is the most standard letter closing and is neutral in its nature, in my opinion
*S úctou* – used in very formal letters
*Ostávam s pozdravom* – used in very formal letters; nowadays it is not very present, in my opinion
*S láskou* - never used with one's cousin
*Maj sa pekne* - sounds OK to me as an informal letter closing (Maj*te* sa pekne - formal singular _you_ or plural _you_) 
*Maj sa dobre* - sounds equally OK though maybe a bit more on the masculine side (Maj*te* sa dobre - formal singular _you_ or plural _you_) 
*Srdečne zdravím* - sounds highfalutin to me
*Maj sa krásne* - I'm a man and I would never say or write "Maj sa krásne" (it sounds effeminate to me); if you’re a woman (or a man who is absolutely OK with it), go for it (Maj*te* sa krásne - formal singular _you_ or plural _you_)
*Drž sa* - I wouldn't use this one but there's nothing wrong with it (Drž*te* sa - formal singular _you_ or plural _you_)
*Maj sa* - sounds OK (Maj*te* sa - formal singular _you_ or plural _you_) 
*Opatruj sa* - "Dávaj si (na seba) pozor"*** is *much* more common but it's used only if there is a reason to use it (Dávaj*te* si (na seba) pozor - formal singular _you_ or plural _you_)
*Ahoj *- in letters/e-mails I only use it as a form of salutation (never as a valediction) but I've seen it used as an informal letter closing many times and it sounds OK to me
*Teším sa na Tvoje správy* - no
*Ozvi sa* - a telephonic equivalent of "Napíš mi" (i.e. Give me a call sometime)
*Pa / pa pa* - no masculine man would ever use this (this is only used by mothers or adult women when bidding farewell to a child or by women when affectionately ending a conversation with their partners)
*Zdraví *– no
*<nothing>* - 
*<other> - *

 = what I would consider using if writing to my cousin

_______________________________
*** _Dávaj si (na seba) pozor_ = Attend to the safety/well-being of yourself *(i)* in general (today/tomorrow/...), or *(ii)* in that particular instance that I have in mind (when you are climbing Mount Everest/visiting a dangerous place etc.)
_Daj si (na seba) pozor_ = Attend to the safety/well-being of yourself in that particular instance that I have in mind (when you are climbing Mount Everest/visiting a dangerous place etc.)


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## Singha

My cousin says that she would usually use the phrase 'Prajem Ti len to najlepšie' at the end of a letter/email.


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