Give my regards meaning
To ‘give [someone] your regards’ or ‘send [someone] your regards’ means to tell that person you say hello, in a formal way.
It shows you are passing on a positive attitude towards them, that you remembered them or that you’re sending them greetings.
When you give your regards, you always do this via another (third) person who is not there, so you tell them to give someone else your regards.
- John: How is Anne? Please give her my regards.
- Sally: Anne’s fine, I will.
[Later that day]
- Sally: Hi Anne, I saw John earlier and he told me to give you his regards.
- Anne: Oh! How is he? That’s nice that he thought of me.
- Please tell your mother that I send my regards.
- Give my regards to your teacher when you see her.
- The boss sends his regards, along with this new timetable.
Regards in Emails
People often sign-off emails with ‘regards’ or ‘best regards’ and then their name. This is a perfectly acceptable, formal way of signing off an email. Other examples are:
- Yours sincerely,
- Sincerely,
- Warm regards,
‘Give My Regards’ synonyms
(Formal)
- Send [someone] my best.
- Send [someone] my best regards.
- Send [someone] my greetings.
- Give [someone] my best wishes.
- Pass on my greetings to [someone].
- My best to [someone].
- All the best to [someone].
- Send [someone] my compliments.
Less formal ways of saying ‘give my regards’
- Tell [someone] I say hello.
- Say hi to [someone] from me.
More intimate ways of saying ‘give my regards’
- Send [someone] my love.
Be careful with:
- ‘tell [someone] I send kisses’
- give her a kiss from me
Unless you’re talking about family, ‘giving kisses’ isn’t used very much in English-speaking cultures (especially the UK), as the practice of greeting someone with two kisses isn’t widely used.
In lots of Latin countries, ‘giving kisses’ means to ‘greet’ or ‘say hello’, but in English-speaking cultures ‘giving a kiss’ is much more intimate and would only be used if the person speaking and the person passing on the greeting would both physically kiss the third person (which is unlikely).
Instead (and especially if you’re not sure) use:
- ‘tell [someone] I say hello’
Sending greetings for specific reasons
Sending a sympathetic greeting to a third person
You may want to pass on a greeting to a third person that is sad, or going through a difficult situation, to let them know you’re thinking of them. If you want to pass on your sympathy, these options would be more appropriate:
Formal
- Give [someone] my condolences
- Please send [someone] my commiserations
Informal
- Tell [someone] I’m sorry
- Tell [someone] that I was sorry to hear that…
- Tell [someone] I’m thinking of them
- Tell [someone] I’m sending positive thoughts.
- Tell [someone] to be strong!
Intimate
- Send [someone] a hug from me
Sending a congratulatory greeting to a third person
If you want to tell a third person that you’re happy for them, or for their success, you could say:
Formal
- Please tell [someone] I’m sending many happy returns
Informal
- Tell [someone] I’m pleased for them.
- Tell [someone] I’m really happy for them.
- Tell [someone] I was really pleased to hear about…
- Congratulate [someone] for me!
- Give [someone] my congratulations!
- Give [someone] a pat on the back from me!
Sending a third person luck
If you want to tell a third person you’re wishing them luck, use:
- Wish [someone] luck from me.
- Wish [someone] the best of luck from me.
- Tell [someone] I’ve got my fingers crossed for them.
- Tell [someone] I’m hoping for the best!
- Best of luck to [someone].
- [To an actor/actress] Tell [someone] to break a leg!
- Tell [someone] they’ll blow them away.
- Tell [someone] I believe in them!
- Tell [someone] that if anyone can do it, they can.
- Tell [someone] they’ll be great!
