We will use the phrase, hope to see you soon, as an expression of enthusiasm and expectation, and the phrase indicates that we are talking to someone we haven’t seen for some time, or to someone we haven’t yet met.
The phrase is used to both end a conversation and to indicate a further desire for contact.
This article will look at a typical English language courtesy phrase and the way we use it to add extra and useful meanings to significant conversations.
When is the phrase, hope to see you soon, used in a conversation?
This phrase is used to end a conversation and, at the same time, to invite further talk.
We use it when we are communicating remotely with someone – over the phone, for example, or via video link. The phrase “see you” indicates that we anticipate “seeing” that person sometime in the future, and in person. The omission of the word “I” indicates enthusiasm and honesty.
The expected response is to state clearly that you also hope to see them soon!
Is, hope to see you soon, a kind of courtesy phrase?
When we say, hope to see you soon, we are infusing the conversation with goodwill; in other words, we are using a courtesy phrase.
Courtesy phrases are used to steer conversations in the direction we want. This is why we wouldn’t normally use it with someone we know really well. We don’t need to “steer” conversations that are relaxed, informal, and predictable.
With people we know well, we’d just say, see you soon. The words hope to are unnecessary, which identifies them as the real politeness tags.
The phrase, hope to see you soon, is particularly useful in the following situations:
At the end of a successful job interview.
After someone has accepted an invitation from you.
After giving directions to a meeting place
The phrase can be used to imply immediacy or to refer to some point in the near future.
How to Reply to “Hope to see you soon”
Some common replies to the phrase “Hope to see you soon”:
- Me too!
- Yeah, let’s get together soon!
- That would be great!
Conclusion
The English language is packed with useful courtesy phrases. We use them to energize conversations, finish conversations, open dialogues, and steer over awkward bumps.
Hope to see you soon is a good example of a social phrase we use constantly to polish a conversation before ending it and to clearly indicate the expected response of the recipient.