The French business world is a subculture with its own lexicon.\u00a0Trust me: I’ve been there for about a decade or so now.<\/p>\n
After years of navigating this strange yet lovely place, I’ve come up with a list of the most essential business French vocabulary.\u00a0Whether you’re a seasoned learner or just starting your French language adventure, make sure to keep this list handy.<\/p>\n
[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Beware of the French word for a company, une<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0soci\u00e9t\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>. <\/em>It can mean the same as the English “society,” but its second meaning as “company” is just as common. Now you know what French people mean when they’re attempting to speak English and ask, “What society do you work for?”<\/p>\n La soci\u00e9t\u00e9<\/strong> a r\u00e9cemment lanc\u00e9 un nouveau produit sur le march\u00e9 international.<\/em> (The company<\/strong> recently launched a new product in the international market.)<\/p>\n If you’re looking for a less confusing term for “company,” you can also use this one.<\/p>\n Notre entreprise<\/strong> se sp\u00e9cialise dans le d\u00e9veloppement de logiciels sur mesure.<\/em> (Our business<\/strong> specializes in custom software development.)<\/p>\n If you want an even more informal term for “company,” and the people involved are fine with it, use bo\u00eete<\/em>.<\/p>\n La bo\u00eete<\/strong> organise une r\u00e9union importante demain pour discuter des objectifs annuels.<\/em> (The company<\/strong> is organizing an important meeting tomorrow to discuss annual goals.)<\/p>\n You’re likely already familiar with this go-to French greeting<\/a>, but don’t make the mistake of greeting someone with it in the hallway after you’ve already used it at the beginning of the day. It’s employed strictly once per day.<\/p>\n Bonjour<\/strong> \u00e0 tous les participants de la conf\u00e9rence ! Nous sommes ravis de vous accueillir.<\/em> (Hello<\/strong> to all conference participants! We are delighted to welcome you.)<\/p>\n Once you’ve used up your daily quota of\u00a0bonjour<\/em>, you could say salut <\/em>instead. Note, however, that most French coworkers are more likely to just nod or say nothing.<\/p>\n Salut<\/strong>, comment \u00e7a va ? C’est toujours un plaisir de vous voir \u00e0 nos \u00e9v\u00e9nements.<\/em> (Hi<\/strong>, how are you? It’s always a pleasure to see you at our events.)<\/p>\n Not unlike their Anglophone counterparts, handshakes are expected in a French business environment.<\/p>\n Nous nous serrons la main<\/strong> pour sceller l’accord commercial conclu entre nos deux entreprises.<\/em> (We shake hands<\/strong> to seal the business deal between our two companies.)<\/p>\n If you work in a smaller or more informal business, you’ll find that coworkers may greet each other with la bise<\/em> in the morning if they like each other\u2014or pretend to. The number of kisses varies according to region, but in Paris it’s often two kisses beginning on the left.<\/p>\n En France, on pratique souvent la bise<\/strong> pour se saluer dans un contexte professionnel.<\/em> (In France, cheek kissing<\/strong> is often practiced as a professional greeting.)<\/p>\n In practice, both tu <\/em>and vous <\/em><\/a>are acceptable to use in a business environment. However, you need to listen carefully to your colleagues to determine the correct level of formality for each situation and each particular business’s culture.<\/p>\n To be safe, use vous<\/em> as it’s considered more polite. It’s almost always used in meetings with those outside of your own company, and with your boss. Some bosses may prefer the more relaxed tu<\/em>, though. When in doubt, ask!<\/p>\n Vous<\/strong> \u00eates invit\u00e9s \u00e0 participer \u00e0 notre prochaine conf\u00e9rence sur l’innovation technologique.<\/em> (You<\/strong> are invited to attend our upcoming conference on technological innovation.)<\/p>\n You’ll sometimes find tu<\/em> used among workers at all levels\u00a0in arts organizations, nonprofits and smaller companies. It’s also common for colleagues to use\u00a0tu<\/em> among themselves, but\u00a0vous<\/em> with the bosses.<\/p>\n Tu<\/strong> peux me passer le dossier avant la r\u00e9union ?<\/em> (Can you<\/strong> pass me the file before the meeting?)<\/p>\n Monsieur <\/em>is a polite way to address a man. It’s used much more than its English counterpart, and can come in handy when you forget someone’s name.<\/p>\n Monsieur<\/strong>, nous avons bien re\u00e7u votre demande et nous y donnerons suite dans les plus brefs d\u00e9lais.<\/em> (Sir<\/strong>, we have received your request and will respond to it as soon as possible.)<\/p>\n \u00a0Similarly, madame <\/em>is a polite way to address a woman, particularly one that you don’t know very well.<\/p>\n Madame<\/strong>, nous sommes honor\u00e9s de vous pr\u00e9senter nos meilleurs v\u0153ux pour le succ\u00e8s de votre entreprise.<\/em> (Madam<\/strong>, we are honored to extend our best wishes for the success of your business.)<\/p>\n Foreigners working in France are often surprised by the limited amount of socializing that goes on between les coll\u00e8gues<\/em>.<\/p>\n Les coll\u00e8gues<\/strong> travaillent ensemble pour atteindre les objectifs de l’entreprise.<\/em> (Colleagues<\/strong> work together to achieve the company’s goals.)<\/p>\n Once your les coll\u00e8gues<\/em> get comfy with you, though, it is possible to transition to pote de travail<\/em>.<\/p>\n Mon pote de travail<\/strong> et moi collaborons \u00e9troitement sur ce projet depuis plusieurs mois.<\/em> (My work buddy<\/strong> and I have been closely collaborating on this project for several months.)<\/p>\n Team buildings <\/em>are becoming increasingly common in France to foster social connections between workers. (Ignore what dictionaries might tell you, as the shortened anglicism is usually used<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Les team buildings<\/strong> sont essentiels pour renforcer la coh\u00e9sion au sein de l’\u00e9quipe.<\/em> (Team buildings<\/strong> are essential for strengthening team cohesion.)<\/p>\n Companies are required to provide training sessions for their employees. However, employees often don’t take these too seriously, and instead use them as opportunities to socialize.<\/p>\n Nous organisons des formations de travail<\/strong> r\u00e9guli\u00e8res pour am\u00e9liorer les comp\u00e9tences de nos employ\u00e9s.<\/em> (We organize regular work trainings<\/strong> to enhance the skills of our employees.)<\/p>\n Earlier, we mentioned three French terms for “company” in French. Now, we’re going to get into the specific types of companies.<\/p>\n First up is une soci\u00e9t\u00e9 par actions<\/em>, which simply means that the stocks or shares (representations of ownership) within a company can be purchased or sold by individuals or entities known as “stockholders” or “shareholders.”<\/p>\n La cr\u00e9ation d’une soci\u00e9t\u00e9 par actions<\/strong> offre plusieurs avantages en termes de responsabilit\u00e9 financi\u00e8re.<\/em> (The establishment of a joint-stock company<\/strong> offers several advantages in terms of financial liability.)<\/p>\n When a company has “LLC” in its name, you’ll know that it’s this. As its name suggests, it’s a company structured in such a way that the individual company owners shoulder as little of the company’s debts as possible. If you’re curious about how that works, here’s a more detailed article about it on Investopedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Une soci\u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 responsabilit\u00e9 limit\u00e9e<\/strong> limite la responsabilit\u00e9 des actionnaires aux montants investis dans l’entreprise.<\/em> (A limited liability company<\/strong> limits the liability of shareholders to the amounts invested in the company.)<\/p>\n Multinational companies are those that have operations outside of their country of origin. Some of the most famous French multinational companies<\/a> are Christian Dior, Herm\u00e8s, L\u2019Or\u00e9al and Louis Vuitton.<\/p>\n2. Entreprise <\/em>(Company)<\/h2>\n
3. Bo\u00eete <\/em>(Company \u2014\u00a0 Informal)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
4. Bonjour <\/em>(Hello, Good Day)<\/h2>\n
5. Salut <\/em>(Hey)<\/h2>\n
6. Se serrer la main <\/em>(Handshakes)<\/h2>\n
7. La Bise<\/em> (Kisses on the Cheek)<\/h2>\n
8. Vous <\/em>(You \u2014 Formal)<\/h2>\n
9. Tu <\/em>(You \u2014 Informal)<\/h2>\n
10. Monsieur <\/em>(Sir)<\/h2>\n
11. Madame <\/em>(Ma’am\/Madam)<\/h2>\n
12. Les Coll\u00e8gues<\/em> (Coworkers)<\/h2>\n
13. Pote de travail<\/em> (Work Buddy)<\/h2>\n
14. Team Buildings<\/em> (Team Building Events)<\/h2>\n
15. <\/em>Les formations de travail<\/em> (Training Sessions)<\/h2>\n
16. Une Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 par Actions<\/em> (Joint Stock Company)<\/h2>\n
17. Une Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 Responsabilit\u00e9 Limit\u00e9e <\/em>(Limited Liability Company)<\/h2>\n
18. Une Multinationale <\/em>(Multinational Company)<\/h2>\n