WHY DO YOU WANT TO GIVE ME A "HUG"?

Running a business in Spain is an interesting adventure and it means that you can get to meet many people who REALLY REALLY want to improve their English. It is great to teach people who are motivated and want to learn.

By teaching so many people, after a while you get to know the common mistakes that people make both spoken and written. One interesting mistake that I have noticed is that Spanish people sometimes put the word “hug” at the end of their emails. I always thought that this was quite nice and they were just being affectionate but now I know that this is an exact translation of “abrazo” in Spanish. Using the word “hug” or “hugs” at the end of an email is not completely wrong but it is certainly not a good idea to use this word in a business context. If the person you are writing to is a very good friend or family member then it is fine but otherwise I would avoid using this sign off in your emails.

Hope that helps.