{"id":85888,"date":"2025-08-13T19:56:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T19:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/glossary\/p-s\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T17:11:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T17:11:12","slug":"p-s","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/glossary\/p-s\/","title":{"rendered":"P.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

P.S. is short for postscript: a brief note added at the end of a letter or an email, after the signature, to say something that wasn’t in the main text.<\/strong> In Spanish it is written P.D., short for posdata<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

It comes from the Latin post scriptum<\/em>, “written after”. It was born in handwritten letters, when you couldn’t erase anything, and today it’s used in emails, messages and social media.<\/p>\n\n

What does P.S. mean?<\/h2>\n\n

P.S. means postscript<\/strong>. It’s what you write when you’ve already finished and signed, but still have something to say.<\/p>\n\n

In a letter, it was used to add something you had forgotten. Today it’s also used on purpose: to highlight an idea, make a personal comment or end on a humorous note.<\/p>\n\n

Whatever goes in the postscript is read separately from the rest. That’s why it catches the eye.<\/p>\n\n

How is the postscript written in Spanish?<\/h2>\n\n

The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) writes the abbreviation with two capital letters, each followed by a period, with a space between them: P. D.<\/strong> It’s usually followed by a colon and the text of the note. It’s one of the most common abbreviations in email, along with others like ASAP<\/a> or FYI<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Form<\/th>Correct?<\/th>When it’s used<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
P. D.:<\/td>Yes, it’s the recommended form<\/td>Letters and formal emails<\/td><\/tr>
P.D.:<\/td>Accepted and very common<\/td>Emails and digital texts<\/td><\/tr>
PD:<\/td>Informal<\/td>WhatsApp, social media and chats<\/td><\/tr>
P. P. D.:<\/td>Yes<\/td>A second postscript, after the first one<\/td><\/tr>
P.S.:<\/td>It’s the English form<\/td>Texts in English<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

The postscript always goes at the end, below the signature<\/a>. If you put it before your sign-off, it’s no longer a postscript.<\/p>\n\n

\"How<\/figure>\n\n
\n

Want to try a P.S. in your next newsletter?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add one with the Mailrelay editor and compare the results with an A\/B test. Free for up to 80,000 emails a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Create a free account<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

P.S. examples<\/h2>\n\n

Here’s what a postscript looks like in three different situations.<\/p>\n\n

In a personal letter or email:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n

P.S. I almost forgot: we’re celebrating Luc\u00eda’s birthday on Saturday. Hope to see you there!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

In a work email:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n

P.S. I’m also attaching last year’s budget, in case you’d like to compare.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

In a marketing email:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n

P.S. The 20% discount ends this Sunday at midnight. Use it here before it expires.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Famous postscripts<\/h2>\n\n

Some of the most memorable postscripts don’t sell anything. They work because they add something personal just when the letter seemed to be over.<\/p>\n\n

In October 1946, physicist Richard Feynman wrote a love letter to his wife Arline, who had died more than a year earlier. He ended it with this postscript: “P.S. Please excuse my not mailing this, but I don’t know your new address.”<\/p>\n\n

In 1965, writer Kurt Vonnegut used a postscript to tell his daughter Nanette that, the last time he saw her, she struck him as one of the nicest people he had ever met. The letter was about other things. What people remember is the P.S.<\/p>\n\n

That surprise at the end works in your emails too. A short, personal postscript is more memorable than another paragraph about the offer.<\/p>\n\n

What does PS mean on WhatsApp and social media?<\/h2>\n\n

On WhatsApp<\/a>, Instagram or TikTok, “PS” also means postscript. It’s written at the end of a message or a post to add a comment.<\/p>\n\n

It’s usually something short, personal or funny. For example, under a travel photo: “PS: yes, I came back with more clothes than I left with.”<\/p>\n\n

Sometimes it’s used to mean “by the way”. The idea is the same: an addition that comes after the main point.<\/p>\n\n

Other meanings of PD<\/h3>\n\n

Outside of messages, the letters PD can also mean something else. On chargers and USB cables, PD<\/strong> stands for Power Delivery<\/em>, a fast-charging standard. It has nothing to do with the postscript.<\/p>\n\n

The postscript in email marketing<\/h2>\n\n

In a marketing email, the P.S. is one of the most-read parts. Many readers don’t read the email body<\/a> from top to bottom: they look at the subject line<\/a>, the greeting, the button and the end.<\/p>\n\n

German direct marketing expert Siegfried V\u00f6gele studied this in business letters. He found that readers, after a quick glance, jumped to the signature and the postscript before reading the text. That’s why he recommended always including one.<\/p>\n\n

It works the same way in an email. You can use the postscript to:<\/p>\n\n