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How does one write P.S. (post scriptum) in Japanese?

Dictionary translates postscript as 追伸, but is that the compound one would use at the end of a Japanese letter or e-mail?

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2 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

Yes, it is. Other variants are 追, and direct use of the English P.S.

The most common format is

追伸　xxxxxx

at the very end of the letter after name and date.

When handwriting, it is common to indent further lines to match the start of the text, like so:

追伸　xxxxxxxx (line 1)
　　　xxxxxxxx (line 2)

These are more style guidelines than rules as sawa points out in the comments below.

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So how exactly would it be used? Would one end the letter, then do 追伸：〇 or 追伸、〇 or something else entirely? – Philip Seyfi Apr 11 '12 at 11:34
I have updated my answer with that information. – ジョン Apr 11 '12 at 11:56
You have the right word, but I don't agree with your emphasis of spacing and indentation. I don't think there is particularly that kind of rules. – sawa Apr 11 '12 at 14:05
@sawa Do you mean to say that this isn't the most common way to format it? I deliberately avoided the implications that these are rules, as I agree that there are other correct ways to format. However, this is the way I was taught, and the way I most commonly see it written. I also consulted a range of letter-writing tutorials on the internet and the overwhelming majority recommend the usage from my answer. If, considering the above, you believe that my answer is misleading, please let me know how I can make it better. – ジョン Apr 11 '12 at 14:11
Your style is a good style, but I was wondering why you particularly needed to emphasize the space. I think you can alternatively just put a semicolon/comma/句点/etc. as Philip suggests. For indenting, it surely looks better, but I don't think that is necessary. – sawa Apr 11 '12 at 14:27
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up vote 1 down vote

Adding to @ジョン's answer which I think it is the most general way, 追記 is possible too. Besides those, they (or I. I'm Japanese) use P.S. PS so normally too.

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