Work Routine

Work routine vocabulary covers the words and phrases used to describe daily activities, schedules, and common tasks in a professional environment. This includes vocabulary for starting the day, taking breaks, attending meetings, and finishing work.

Daily Activities

These are the common actions people perform during a typical workday, from getting ready in the morning to commuting and starting work.

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example	Pronunciation (French)
se réveiller	se réveiller	to wake up	to wake up	Je me réveille à 6 heures.	I wake up at 6 o’clock.	[sə ʁeveje]
se lever	se lever	to get up	to get up	Il se lève à 7 heures.	He gets up at 7 o’clock.	[sə ləve]
se préparer	se préparer	to get ready	to get ready	Je me prépare rapidement.	I get ready quickly.	[sə pʁepaʁe]
prendre le petit-déjeuner	prendre les petits-déjeuners	to have breakfast	to have breakfast	Nous prenons le petit-déjeuner.	We have breakfast.	[pʁɑ̃dʁ lə pəti deʒœne]
partir	partir	to leave	to leave	Elle part au travail à 8 heures.	She leaves for work at 8 a.m.	[paʁtiʁ]

He gets up at 7 o’clock.

Il se lève à 7 heures.

Il se couche à 7 heures.

Il part à 7 heures.

Il se prépare à 7 heures.

Il se lève à 7 heures.

'Il se lève à 7 heures.' means 'He gets up at 7 o’clock.' The verb 'se lever' means to get up.

I get ready quickly.

Je me prépare rapidement.

Je me couche rapidement.

Je pars rapidement.

Je me réveille rapidement.

Je me prépare rapidement.

'Je me prépare rapidement.' means 'I get ready quickly.' The verb 'se préparer' means to get ready.

Commuting

These words describe the journey to and from work, including modes of transportation and common verbs.

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example	Pronunciation (French)
prendre le bus	prendre les bus	to take the bus	to take the buses	Je prends le bus tous les jours.	I take the bus every day.	[pʁɑ̃dʁ lə bys]
prendre le métro	prendre les métros	to take the subway	to take the subways	Il prend le métro à 8 heures.	He takes the subway at 8 a.m.	[pʁɑ̃dʁ lə metʁo]
conduire	conduire	to drive	to drive	Elle conduit sa voiture.	She drives her car.	[kɔ̃dɥiʁ]
marcher	marcher	to walk	to walk	Je marche jusqu’au bureau.	I walk to the office.	[maʁʃe]
arriver	arriver	to arrive	to arrive	Nous arrivons au travail à 9 heures.	We arrive at work at 9 a.m.	[aʁive]

I take the bus every day.

Je prends le bus tous les jours.

Je prends le métro tous les jours.

Je marche tous les jours.

Je conduis tous les jours.

Je prends le bus tous les jours.

'Je prends le bus tous les jours.' means 'I take the bus every day.' The verb 'prendre le bus' means to take the bus.

Common Verbs

These verbs are frequently used to describe tasks and actions during the workday.

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example	Pronunciation (French)
travailler	travailler	to work	to work	Je travaille sur un projet important.	I’m working on an important project.	[tʁavaje]
répondre	répondre	to answer	to answer	Elle répond aux emails rapidement.	She answers emails quickly.	[ʁepɔ̃dʁ]
organiser	organiser	to organize	to organize	Nous organisons une réunion.	We are organizing a meeting.	[ɔʁɡanize]
rédiger	rédiger	to write	to write	Il rédige un rapport.	He is writing a report.	[ʁediʒe]
imprimer	imprimer	to print	to print	J’imprime les documents.	I’m printing the documents.	[ɛ̃pʁime]

Breaks & Meals

Vocabulary related to taking breaks, having lunch, and socializing during the workday.

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example	Pronunciation (French)
faire une pause	faire des pauses	to take a break	to take breaks	Je fais une pause à 10 heures.	I take a break at 10 a.m.	[fɛʁ yn poz]
déjeuner	déjeuner	to have lunch	to have lunch	Nous déjeunons ensemble à midi.	We have lunch together at noon.	[deʒœne]
prendre un café	prendre des cafés	to have a coffee	to have coffees	Elle prend un café avec ses collègues.	She has a coffee with her colleagues.	[pʁɑ̃dʁ œ̃ kafe]
discuter	discuter	to chat	to chat	Ils discutent pendant la pause.	They chat during the break.	[diskyte]
retourner au travail	retourner au travail	to return to work	to return to work	Je retourne au travail à 11 heures.	I return to work at 11 a.m.	[ʁətuʁne o tʁavaj]

Finishing Up

These words and phrases are used to describe the end of the workday and preparing to leave.

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example	Pronunciation (French)
terminer	terminer	to finish	to finish	Je termine mon travail à 18 heures.	I finish my work at 6 p.m.	[tɛʁmine]
ranger	ranger	to tidy up	to tidy up	Je range mon bureau avant de partir.	I tidy up my desk before leaving.	[ʁɑ̃ʒe]
éteindre l’ordinateur	éteindre les ordinateurs	to turn off the computer	to turn off the computers	Il éteint l’ordinateur.	He turns off the computer.	[etɛ̃dʁ lɔʁdinatœʁ]
partir	partir	to leave	to leave	Nous partons du bureau à 18 h 30.	We leave the office at 6:30 p.m.	[paʁtiʁ]
dire au revoir	dire au revoir	to say goodbye	to say goodbye	Je dis au revoir à mes collègues.	I say goodbye to my colleagues.	[diʁ o ʁəvwaʁ]

Time Expressions

Common time-related expressions to help you describe your work schedule more precisely.

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example	Pronunciation (French)
le matin	les matins	in the morning	in the mornings	Je travaille le matin.	I work in the morning.	[lə matɛ̃]
l’après-midi	les après-midis	in the afternoon	in the afternoons	Nous avons une réunion l’après-midi.	We have a meeting in the afternoon.	[lapʁɛmidi]
le soir	les soirs	in the evening	in the evenings	Je finis le travail le soir.	I finish work in the evening.	[lə swaʁ]
à midi	—	at noon	—	Je déjeune à midi.	I have lunch at noon.	[a midi]
vers 17 heures	—	around 5 p.m.	—	Je pars vers 17 heures.	I leave around 5 p.m.	[vɛʁ sɛtœʁ]

Summary

The French work routine vocabulary covers daily activities, commuting, common verbs, breaks, finishing up, and time expressions to help describe your workday.

English Singular: to wake up
English Plural: to wake up
English Example: I wake up at 6 o’clock.

French