French Office & Workplace Expressions
The everyday expressions French colleagues actually use — meetings, email, coffee-machine chat — office French as it is spoken.
Office French has its own dialect: half English loanwords, half idioms nobody teaches. These are the expressions you hear daily at a French workplace.
- 1
être débordé
to be swamped with work
Tip: Literally 'overflowing'. 'Je suis débordé en ce moment' — the default French office excuse.
- 2
une réunion
a meeting
Tip: 'Être en réunion' = in a meeting — the standard unavailability line.
- 3
décaler
to reschedule / postpone
Tip: 'On peut décaler à demain ?' — softer than 'reporter', extremely common.
- 4
faire un point
to give an update
Tip: Literally 'make a point'. 'On se fait un point lundi ?' = let's sync Monday.
- 5
dès que possible
as soon as possible
Tip: Written 'ASAP' survives in French emails, but spoken it's 'dès que possible'.
- 6
être en congé
to be on leave / vacation
Tip: 'Congés payés' = paid leave; 'RTT' is extra comp days — a very French institution.
- 7
faire du télétravail
to work from home
Tip: Or just 'je suis en télétravail' — often shortened to 'en TT' in chat.
- 8
une échéance
a deadline
Tip: Formal word; spoken French often just says 'la deadline'.
- 9
s'en charger
to take on / handle a task
Tip: 'Je m'en charge' = I'll handle it — the phrase that wins meetings.
- 10
tenir au courant
to keep someone posted
Tip: 'Je te tiens au courant' — ends half of all French work conversations.
- 11
mettre les pieds dans le plat
to raise a sensitive issue
Tip: Literally 'put your feet in the dish' — to bluntly bring up what everyone avoids.
- 12
la pause café
the coffee break
Tip: A protected ritual; 'on se prend un café ?' is how informal alliances are made.
- 13
être charrette
to be overloaded (schedule)
Tip: Old architecture-school slang: crunch mode before a deadline. 'Je suis charrette cette semaine.'
- 14
un brief
a quick informal chat
Tip: English loan; 'faire un brief' / 'débriefer' after a meeting.
- 15
mettre en copie
to copy someone on an email
Tip: 'Tu peux me mettre en copie ?' — cc culture is strong in French offices.
- 16
gravir les échelons
to move up the ladder
Tip: Literally climb the rungs — standard phrase for career progression.
- 17
avoir du pain sur la planche
to have a lot on one's plate
Tip: Literally 'bread on the board' = plenty of work ahead.
- 18
pour faire court
to sum up / in short
Tip: Meeting-friendly: 'pour faire court, on est en retard'.
- 19
une augmentation
a pay raise
Tip: 'Demander une augmentation' — no need to say 'de salaire', it's implied.
- 20
démissionner
to resign
Tip: 'Poser sa démission' = hand in one's notice.
- 21
un CDI
a work contract (permanent)
Tip: 'Contrat à durée indéterminée' — the French holy grail. Fixed-term is 'un CDD'.
- 22
débaucher
to clock off / finish work
Tip: Regional but widespread: 'je débauche à 18h'. Opposite: 'embaucher' also means to hire.
- 23
l'open space
the open-plan office
Tip: English loan, used universally — complaints about it included.
- 24
procrastiner
to procrastinate at work
Tip: Same word; the slangier office verb is 'glandouiller' (to laze about).
- 25
c'est pas sorcier
it's not rocket science
Tip: Literally 'it's not sorcerer stuff' — also a beloved French science TV show.
- 26
faire un burn-out
to burn out
Tip: English loan fully adopted; the formal term is 'épuisement professionnel'.