How to Send a Letter at the Post Office
Do you want to send a letter to a friend? You can send it from a post office. First, write your letter on paper. Then put it in an envelope. Write the name and address on the front of the envelope. Write your own address too, in the top corner of the front. In Japan, people write it on the back. This is the return address. It helps the post office find you if something goes wrong.
Next, go to the post office. Most post offices open in the morning and close in the evening. Take your envelope with you. Stand in the line and wait for your turn. When it is your turn, walk to the counter. A clerk will help you there.
Give your envelope to the clerk. The clerk will weigh it on a scale. Heavier letters cost more money. A letter to another country also costs more than a letter in your own country. The clerk will tell you the price. Pay the clerk for a stamp. The clerk will stick the stamp on the envelope for you, or you can buy stamps and do it yourself.
Last, put your letter in the mail. You can give it to the clerk, or you can put it in a mailbox outside. Then wait. Your letter will travel to its address. It usually takes a few days to arrive, but it can take longer for other countries. Now you know how to send a letter at the post office!
Vocabulary
- envelope
- a paper cover for a letter — She put the photo in a small envelope.
- return address
- the writer's own address, written on the envelope so the letter can come back — If the letter cannot arrive, it will go back to the return address.
- clerk
- a person who works at a desk or counter and helps customers — The clerk gave me my ticket at the train station.
- counter
- a long, flat table where workers help customers in a shop or office — Please pay at the counter near the door.
- weigh
- to find out how heavy something is — Can you weigh this bag for me?
- scale
- a machine that shows how heavy something is — He stood on the scale to check his weight.
- stamp
- a small piece of paper you put on a letter to pay for sending it — I need one more stamp for this postcard.
- mailbox
- a box on the street where you put letters to send — She dropped the card into the mailbox on the corner.
- post office
- a place where you can send letters and buy stamps — The post office closes at five o'clock.