Is "per my last email" passive aggressive?

Literally, it means "as I said in my previous email." But in practice, everyone knows it means "I already told you this, why are you asking again?" It's a polite surface with obvious irritation underneath.

Think of it as a diplomatic eye-roll. The words are courteous, but the intention is to point at something the other person overlooked. That gap between the polite words and the sharp meaning is exactly what makes the phrase so recognisable.

Professional settings require a certain level of civility, which means you can't always say what you actually mean. "Per my last email" became famous precisely because it sounds formal and neutral while being obviously pointed. It's a way of holding someone accountable ("you missed this") while maintaining plausible deniability ("I was just referencing my email").

Native speakers are fully aware of the subtext. If someone sends you "per my last email," they're annoyed. It has become such a recognised signal that it's now a workplace meme.

The reason it works so well is that "per" is genuinely a formal, business-like word. In a neutral context, "per your request" or "per company policy" are completely normal. So when someone writes "per my last email," they get to sound professional while quietly reminding you that the answer was already sitting in your inbox.

Formally passive-aggressive. It lives in professional email, nowhere else. You'd never say it out loud in conversation without it being a joke.

A few more examples of the phrase in action:

• "Per my last email, the deadline is Friday, not Monday."
• "As per my previous email, I'll need those figures before the meeting."
• "Per my email below, this was already approved by the client."

Notice how each one references something the reader should have already known. That is the tell.

Many learners reach for "per my last email" thinking it simply sounds formal and professional, without realising the emotional charge it carries to a native reader. If your goal is a polite, neutral follow-up, this phrase can accidentally make you sound irritated or even rude to a colleague or manager. Use it deliberately, not by accident.

Picture the phrase in bold with a raised eyebrow behind it. "Per my last email" equals "check your inbox before you ask me again." If that eyebrow does not match your true feeling, choose a softer phrase instead.

If you want to be genuinely neutral when referencing a previous email:

• "As mentioned in my previous email..." - neutral, professional
• "Just following up on what I sent on Monday..." - friendly
• "To recap what I shared earlier..." - collaborative tone

If you actually want to signal (politely) that someone missed something, the native approach is usually to just re-state the information clearly without calling it out. Saves face for everyone.

"As previously discussed" carries almost the same energy as "per my last email." It signals "we already covered this" and can land just as sharply. Another famous one is "circling back," which is neutral on its own but becomes pointed when it means "you never replied, so I'm chasing you again." And "just to close the loop on this" is a friendlier cousin, often used to wrap something up without blame.

All of these live firmly in the professional email world. In a casual message to a friend, you would never write "per my last text." You would just say "I already told you, remember?" or "like I said before." The formality of the workplace is what gives "per my last email" its particular flavour, that clash between stiff wording and human frustration.

If you are writing across British and American offices, the good news is that "per my last email" reads the same way on both sides of the Atlantic. It is a shared piece of office culture, and everyone recognises the eyebrow behind it.