Why is the first word after “Dear” capitalised?

A small detail. A common mistake. And something German speakers often notice when writing emails in English.

In German, we write:

“Sehr geehrter Herr Müller,
vielen Dank für Ihre Nachricht.”

The first word after the greeting stays lowercase.

But in English, we write:

“Dear Mr Müller,
Thank you for your message.”

Why the difference?

In English, the greeting is treated as a complete opening. The message starts after it, so the first word gets a capital letter.

Think of it like this:

“Dear Sarah,
I hope you are well.”

The greeting is finished. The message begins.

Quick win: When writing emails in English, don’t copy German punctuation and capitalisation rules.

Small details create a professional impression. And this is one of those small details that is easy to fix.