French business and work vocabulary: 489 words
Office, meetings and business vocabulary for the workplace (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese). This page lists 40 of them with their French translations, then lets you practise the full set in either direction with spaced repetition.
English to French: the first 40 words
| English | French | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| work | travail | Effort or activity done to earn a living or achieve something. |
| job | emploi | The paid position a person holds with an employer. |
| office | bureau | A room or building where clerical and administrative business is carried out. |
| company | entreprise | A business organisation that sells goods or services. |
| meeting | réunion | An arranged gathering where people discuss matters together. |
| boss | patron | The person in charge of you at your place of employment. |
| colleague | collègue | Someone who is employed alongside you at the same place. |
| employee | employé | A person hired and paid by a firm to do a job. |
| manager | directeur | The person who runs a department or business and directs staff. |
| team | équipe | A group of people working or playing together toward one goal. |
| client | client | A business relationship: person/company you provide professional services to. |
| customer | client | A person who buys goods or services from a shop or business. |
| project | projet | A planned piece of work with a defined goal and end. |
| deadline | date limite | The latest time by which something must be finished. |
| report | rapport | A written account presenting findings or information on a subject. |
| A message sent electronically from one person to another over the internet. | ||
| phone call | appel | An act of speaking to someone by telephone. |
| computer | ordinateur | An electronic machine that stores and processes data. |
| desk | bureau | A table for writing at, often with drawers. |
| document | document | A paper or file containing written information or proof. |
| contract | contrat | A binding written agreement between two or more parties. |
| salary | salaire | The fixed money an employee is paid regularly for their post. |
| interview | entretien | A formal meeting where a candidate is questioned before being hired. |
| résumé | CV | One-page summary of work history and skills for job applications. |
| experience | expérience | Knowledge and skill gained from having done something over time. |
| skill | compétence | An ability to do something well, learned through practice. |
| career | carrière | The long-term course of a person's professional life. |
| promotion | promotion | A move up to a higher rank or better position at work. |
| department | département | A separate section of a company, shop, or university handling one kind of work. |
| schedule | emploi du temps | A plan showing when each activity is to happen. |
| appointment | rendez-vous | An arranged time to meet someone, such as a doctor or client. |
| presentation | présentation | A talk with slides given to an audience to explain something. |
| customer service | service client | The help a company gives to buyers before and after they purchase. |
| invoice | facture | A document listing goods supplied and the money owed for them. |
| budget | budget | A plan of how much money may be spent and on what. |
| profit | profit | The money left over once all costs have been paid. |
| sales | ventes | The activity of selling goods, or the total amount sold. |
| marketing | marketing | The business of promoting and advertising products to attract buyers. |
| goal | objectif | Something you aim to achieve. Not the net in football. |
| task | tâche | A single piece of work someone must carry out. |
449 more words in the full “Work & Business” library, each aligned across seven languages and scheduled for you by spaced repetition. Add it to your account and start drilling English to French in one click.
What to watch out for in French
- 231 of these 489 words are near-identical in English and French (47%) —
client,document,expérience. Those are free; the value of drilling is in the rest. - Accents count. Answers are graded accent-sensitively, so you need
àâçéèêîïô— LinguaSwap shows a one-tap keypad for them while you type. - 489 words carry a usage note in the full library, for the cases where a direct translation would mislead you.
Practise French business and work vocabulary
Words come back just before you would forget them, and every language direction is tracked separately.