What Does V/r Mean in Email Signature?

It’s common to abbreviate words and phrases in English when seeking efficiency or consistency in writing. Sometimes, you’ll see “V/r” appear in a letter or email signature. It might be useful to learn about this salutation, so this article will help you understand more about it.

What Does V/r Mean in Email Signature?

“V/r” means “very respectfully.” It is commonly used in the military when addressing higher or similar ranks. It’s a way to “recognize position” at the end of an email. You may use “/r” if you are emailing someone of a lower rank, which is how you abbreviate “respectfully.”

“V/r” is always written in the same way. The “V” should be a capital letter. It starts the salutation and means “very.” You finish with a forward slash and a lowercase “r” to abbreviate “respectfully.”

Together, “very respectfully” is used to show respect and recognition for someone’s position in the military. It’s most effective when someone ranks higher than you, as it shows that you respect them and their rank.

What Does V/r Mean in Military Email?

When learning how to sign a military email, “V/r” will come up a lot. It’s a great thing to include when you want to recognize someone’s authority over you.

“V/r” means “very respectfully.” It’s a great choice when you recognize someone’s rank compared to yours. You should only use it when they rank higher or similar to your own rank.

If emailing someone of a lower rank, “V/r” is never used. “V” is dropped, as you only need to use “respectfully” to address them.

You will almost always find “V/r” in military emails and never anywhere else. It’s a form of jargon used in the military, meaning it’s unlikely that other native speakers have heard of it.

Outside of the military, “V/r” might not be recognized. It’s uncommon for most native English speakers to understand jargonic terminology without doing research beforehand. “V/r” will would look like an error to most natives.

When Can I End an Email With V/r?

You need to know how to end an email with “V/r” before trying it yourself. We’ve touched on the basics, but it could be good to see it in action. These examples will help you to figure out more about it:

• Dear Peter,
• It’s been great to catch up after all this time. I’m sure we’ll be able to find another time to get more work done.
• V/r,
• Jeff

• Dear Sergeant Major,
• I’m glad you came to me with these problems. I have a feeling that we’ll be able to sort most of this out before the end of the week.
• V/r,
• Tom Whitely

• Dear Abbie,
• I appreciate you telling me about this. I wasn’t there when they went through the briefs. It’s nice to see they have a plan.
• V/r,
• Max

• Dear Mr. Smith,
• You should have been there to help them out. They would have had a much easier time if you had given them a hand.
• V/r,
• Kim

• Dear Terry Woodford,
• I knew I could count on you. You’ve helped me understand a few more things about this situation.
• V/r,
• Martin

“V/r” is great to include as a salutation in military emails. It shows that you have a great deal of respect or admiration for someone who ranks higher than you.

It’s used in the same way as other email closers. You should always include it at the end (just before you sign your name). It’s also wise to place a comma after it to show that you’re about to finish your email signature.

When to Avoid Ending an Email With V/r

“V/r” isn’t always a good salutation in an email. While it’s great when learning how to end an army email, it’s not particularly effective in most business emails.

In fact, most business people won’t know what “V/r” means when you use it. If you include it as a salutation, you’ll confuse them. They might even see you as rude for using an abbreviation rather than a typical “Kind regards” or “All the best.”

Here are some business-related contexts where “V/r” definitely won’t help your cause:

• Dear Mr. Carter,
• I will be able to work again on Monday. I’ve finally recovered from the flu that hit me over the weekend.
• V/r,
• Thomas

• Dear Mrs. Martins,
• I’m glad you approached me about these issues. I’ll have most of the files on your desk ready to go by the end of the week.
• V/r,
• Tim

• Dear Boss,
• I’m not sure what you want me to do with these attachments. Was there something specific you had in mind?
• V/r,
• Rihanna

When to Sign an Email With /r

It’s possible to write “respectfully” in an email without the need for “very.” “/r” on its own is used to mean “respectfully.” You need to know the right times to use it, though. It can get quite insulting if you use it incorrectly.

You should use “/r” when signing an email sent to someone who ranks lower than you. It still shows respect but recognizes that they are not of a higher rank than you are.

“Very” is dropped when addressing someone of a lower rank. It’s not needed in the abbreviation, so “V” is kept out.

However, the forward slash stays in to show that you’re being respectful. Otherwise, you’d be left with a lowercase “r” and nothing else to signify that it’s an abbreviation.

You should not use “/r” when addressing someone of a higher rank. If you address someone of a higher rank than you with “/r,” it shows that you aren’t being “very respectful” towards them. This could cause more problems than it’s worth.

Here are some examples to show you when “/r” is an appropriate salutation in a military email:

• Dear Roger,
• I’m glad you came to me with this information. I’ll talk to the rest of the troop to see if there’s anything they can do differently.
• /r,
• Martin Paolo

• Dear Chrissy,
• Thank you for talking to me about this. I know it couldn’t have been easy. I’m here if you need me for anything else.
• /r,
• Timothy Wood

• Dear Evie,
• I appreciate everything you’ve done for the squad this week. You’ve helped a lot of the newbies feel welcome, which is great.
• /r,
• Sarah Catten

• Dear George,
• Is there anything else you’d like to talk to me about? I feel like you still had more to share after our talk the other day.
• /r,
• Peter Pamela

• Dear Thomson,
• I’m not sure why you decided to do this. However, I’m very impressed by your dedication. You have my support.
• /r,
• Ella Saxby

Should V/r Be Capitalized or Not?

Capitalizing “V/r” is very important. There are specific rules to follow when using it in military emails.

You must capitalize the “V” but leave the “r” lowercase. This is how you should always sign an email with “very respectfully.”

This is done because it’s an abbreviation of a longer salutation, “very respectfully.” If you were to write the full phrase, it would look like this in an email:

• Dear Pete,
• Thank you for your help today.
• Very respectfully,
• George

As you can see, “Very” is uppercase, meaning that “V” is kept uppercase when used like this. “Respectfully” is lowercase, meaning that “r” must also be lowercase. The forward slash is included to help separate the two letters (rather than writing “Vr”).

Here is how the same email would look with the correct capitalization:

• Dear Pete,
• Thank you for your help today.
• V/r,
• George

When only writing “/r,” the lowercase “r” is still required. This is because “V/r” came first. Removing the “V” was an afterthought, but the “r” was kept lowercase to show that it’s part of the root abbreviation.

Is the Slash Necessary in V/r?

The forward slash is necessary for “V/r” because it’s an abbreviation of two words that need to be kept separated. The forward slash acts in the same way the space does between “very” and “respectfully.”

Without the forward slash, the abbreviation would read “Vr.” This would look quite strange when included at the end of an email, as it would suggest that “vr” is a word.

It’s common to include forward slashes or other forms of punctuation (like periods) when separating words in abbreviations. It helps readers to understand what you’re trying to write.

If it’s too difficult to understand an abbreviation, then there’s no reason to include an abbreviation. Abbreviations are only created to make things easier and more efficient. That’s why the forward slash is there. It helps people to understand “V/r” without needing to look it up.

Alternatives to V/r

“V/r” is only appropriate in military emails. You might be curious about some other responses that work in formal emails. Perhaps some of these will work better for you:

• Kind regards
• Regards
• Best regards
• Yours
• Yours sincerely
• Yours faithfully
• Yours truthfully
• Best wishes
• All the best
• My best

Final Thoughts

“V/r” is a very common abbreviation in military emails. It’s included as a salutation in the email signature. It means “very respectfully” and should be used when addressing people of similar or higher ranks than you. “/r” is the salutation to use when addressing someone of a lower rank.