GeminiTemplate, 6 blanks to fill

Write a formal email in [LANGUAGE] from my notes, then translate it back into English so I can check it. Recipient and their role: [RECIPIENT] Country or region of the recipient: [REGION] What the email must say, in my own words: [NOTES] How well we know each other: [RELATIONSHIP] My name and title: [MY NAME] Steps: 1. Choose the greeting, form of address and sign-off that a careful native writer in [REGION] would use for this relationship. Explain the choice in one line. 2. Write the email in [LANGUAGE]: a clear subject line, a short opening, the points from my notes in a logical order, and a polite close with any request stated plainly. 3. Translate the email back into English line by line, as literally as possible, so I can see what it really says. 4. Flag any phrase where the tone in [LANGUAGE] is noticeably more formal or more direct than my notes suggest. Rules: Do not add facts, dates, prices or promises that are not in my notes. Keep names and numbers exactly as I wrote them.

The words in brackets are the parts you replace with your own details.

Gemini

Formal email in another language, with a back-translation prompt

Writing to an office, a supplier or a university in a language you only half know is risky: a machine translation can be grammatical yet sound rude, overfamiliar or oddly stiff. This prompt has Gemini choose the greeting and sign-off a careful local writer would use, write the email from your notes, and then translate it back literally. You read the English version, confirm it says what you meant, and send the original with confidence.

GeminiOpen Gemini

Replace [LANGUAGE] and [RECIPIENT] and [REGION] and [NOTES] and [RELATIONSHIP] and [MY NAME] with your own text before you send it.

Writing

Adapted from a prompt on prompts.chat (CC0-1.0), rewritten as a template by us.

More inspiration

Open in Gemini Write your own

What each part of the prompt does

Region, not just language: Spanish in Madrid and in Mexico City, or Portuguese in Lisbon and in São Paulo, use different forms of address. Naming the recipient's region lets Gemini pick the right one instead of a generic textbook form.
Explained greeting: Step 1 asks for a one-line reason behind the greeting and sign-off. Those two lines set the tone of the whole email, and the explanation teaches you the convention for next time.
Literal back-translation: A smooth English rewrite would hide problems. A line-by-line literal version shows exactly what the recipient will read, including any promise or request that came out stronger than you meant.
Tone flags: Step 4 points out lines that are more formal or more blunt than your notes. You can then accept the local convention or ask for a softer version knowingly.

Variations to try

Same idea, one thing changed.

Reply to an email I received
Write a formal reply in [LANGUAGE] to the email below, using my notes, then translate it back into English so I can check it. Recipient and their role: [RECIPIENT] Country or region of the recipient: [REGION] The email I received, followed by what my reply must say: [NOTES] How well we know each other: [RELATIONSHIP] My name and title: [MY NAME] Steps: 1. Choose the greeting, form of address and sign-off that a careful native writer in [REGION] would use for this relationship. Explain the choice in one line. 2. Write the email in [LANGUAGE]: a clear subject line, a short opening, the points from my notes in a logical order, and a polite close with any request stated plainly. 3. Translate the email back into English line by line, as literally as possible, so I can see what it really says. 4. Flag any phrase where the tone in [LANGUAGE] is noticeably more formal or more direct than my notes suggest. Rules: Do not add facts, dates, prices or promises that are not in my notes. Keep names and numbers exactly as I wrote them.
Semi-formal for a known contact
Write a formal email in [LANGUAGE] from my notes, then translate it back into English so I can check it. Recipient and their role: [RECIPIENT] Country or region of the recipient: [REGION] What the email must say, in my own words: [NOTES] How well we know each other: [RELATIONSHIP] My name and title: [MY NAME] Steps: 1. Choose the greeting, form of address and sign-off that a native writer in [REGION] would use with a friendly business contact, polite but not stiff,. Explain the choice in one line. 2. Write the email in [LANGUAGE]: a clear subject line, a short opening, the points from my notes in a logical order, and a polite close with any request stated plainly. 3. Translate the email back into English line by line, as literally as possible, so I can see what it really says. 4. Flag any phrase where the tone in [LANGUAGE] is noticeably more formal or more direct than my notes suggest. Rules: Do not add facts, dates, prices or promises that are not in my notes. Keep names and numbers exactly as I wrote them.

If the result isn't right

Write your notes as short plain sentences; idioms in the notes tend to be translated literally.
For anything legal, medical or contractual, have a fluent speaker read the email before it goes out.
Keep the back-translation; it is a useful record of what you actually sent.
If the recipient writes back in their language, paste the reply and ask for a literal English version first, then use this prompt again for your answer.