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Labour Day, May Day or International Workers’ Day is celebrated on 1st May in most countries. It commemorates the struggle carried out by workers around the world to reduce the working hours. In this article, we are going to learn a lot of vocabulary related to work. If you continue reading, you will find:

  • General vocabulary about the world of work and employment
  • Vocabulary listed by fields of work
  • Titles and forms of address
  • Some useful advice to learn vocabulary quickly

Well, let ‘s get to work!

If you wish to improve your level of French in order to take the tests DELF, DALF or TCF, revising all our french vocabuary worksheets is always a great idea!

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Work And Employment

We are going to start by learning some general vocabulary which will be very useful for situations such as looking for a job, applying for it and talking about the contract.

List Of Words Related to Work – Liste de mots liés au travail

a jobun emploi, un poste, un travail
an occupationun métier, une profession
a careerune carrière
a vocation, a callingune vocation
a job applicationune demande d’emploi, une candidature
to apply for a postposer sa candidature à un poste
a vacancyun poste à pourvoir
a job advertisementune offre d’emploi
a curriculum vitae; a CVun curriculum vitae, un CV
skillsles compétences
qualificationsles diplômes
work experiencel’expérience professionnelle
trainingune formation / un stage
to recruit sbrecruter qqn
to hire sb asembaucher qqn
a work contractun contrat de travail
to sign a contractsigner un contrat avec qqn
a term contractun contrat à durée déterminée
part-timeà temps partiel
half-timeà mi-temps
full-timeà temps plein
a salaryun salaire
to earn 3,000 euros a monthtoucher / gagner 3,000 euros par mois

Job Sectors

Now, let’s continue with some vocabulary about occupations and jobs according to different fields of work.

Medical Jobs

List Of Medical Jobs – Liste de Emplois médicaux

a doctor un médecin, un docteur
a GPun médecin généraliste
a nurseun infirmier, une infirmière
a surgeonun chirurgien
a psychologistun psychologue
a dentistun dentiste
a midwifeune sage-femme
a veterinarianun vétérinaire

Education Jobs

There are unforgettable teachers; those who have helped us discover our talents and who have encouraged us to believe in ourselves. Inspiring teachers are able to mentor students and guide them to succeed in life.

Jobs Related To Education – Métiers de l’éducation

a preschool teacherun enseignant; une enseignante de maternelle
a primary school teacherun instituteur, une institutrice
a secondary school teacherun enseignant, une enseignante de second degré
a lecturerun maître de conférences; une maîtresse de conférences
a professorun, une professeur
a tenured teacherun, une titulaire
head of the departmentchef de section, d'institut, de département

Service Occupations

Let’s see some of the most common jobs that belong to this category:

Service Jobs – Métiers des services

a firefighterun pompier
a cashierun caissier, une caissière
a hairdresserun coiffeur, une coiffeuse
a call centre representativeun téléconseiller
a travel agentun agent de voyages
a secretaryun, une secrétaire
a first-aid-workerun, une secouriste

Agriculture Jobs

Some of the most common jobs in this field are:

Agriculture Jobs – Les métiers de l’agriculture

a farmerun agriculteur, une agricultrice
a fish farmerun aquaculteur, une aquacultrice, un pisciculteur, une piscicultrice
a horticulturist, gardenerun horticulteur, une horticultrice
a forest engineer un ingénieur forestier
an enologistun oenologue, une oenologue
a winegrowerun viticulteur, une viticultrice
a market gardener / truck farmerun maraîcher, une maraîchère
a farm machinery operator un conducteur de machines agricoles

Art Jobs

Below you will find a list of art jobs:

 Art Jobs – Métiers artistiques

an artistun, une artiste, un dessinateur, une dessinatrice
a craftsmanun artisan
an art criticun, une critique d’art
a curatorun conservateur, une conservatrice
an auctioneerun commissaire-priseur
a sculptorun sculpteur
a cartoonistun dessinateur humoristique

Transport Jobs

The transportation sector includes jobs in industries that transport passengers, materials or goods by means of private and public transportation (bus, boat, plane, rail, etc.). The following list will allow you to familiarize yourself with different occupations in this industry.

Transport Jobs – Les métiers dans le transport

a truck/taxi/bus driverun chauffeur routier, une conductrice de camion
un chauffeur de taxi/ bus, une conductrice de taxi/bus
a shipping agentun agent de transit, une agente de transit
a boatmanun batelier, une batelière
a warehouse clerkun magasinier, une magasinière
a sailorun matelot, une matelote, un marin
an air traffic controllerun contrôleur aérien, une contrôleuse aérienne
a pilotun pilote

Liberal Professions

Have you thought about creating your own enterprise? Then, it is important to know what the nature of your profession is. If you are going to engage in an activity for which you will essentially provide intellectual, technical or care services, it will certainly be a liberal profession!  Liberal professions are intellectual activities exercised individually and under the worker’s responsibility. They require academic qualifications. There are regulated and non-regulated activities. Let’s see some of the most common ones:

Liberal Professions – Professions libérales

Non-regulated Liberal ProfessionsProfessions libérales non-réglementées
a proofreaderun correcteur, une correctrice
a graphic designerun, une graphiste
a press secretaryun attaché, une attachée de presse
a translatorun traducteur, une traductrice
a driving school instructorun moniteur, une monitrice d’auto-école
a physical trainerun, une coach sportif
a psychoanalystun, une psychanalyste
a consultant, an advisorun consultant, une consultante
Regulated Liberal Professions Professions libérales réglementées
a magistrateun magistrat
a judgeun, une juge
a lawyer, a barrister, an attorney, a counselorun avocat, une avocat
a clerk of the Courtun greffier
a notaryun notaire
an architectun, une architecte
an accountantun, une comptable

Job Titles And Forms of Address

Job titles indicate the kind of work you do, what your role is, your authority and duties. They can also indicate how much experience you have. In addition, they are a way of showing respect and politeness. Below you will find some examples of them.

Job Titles – Titre officiel de courtoisie

In French, it is not usual to call people by the name of their profession. Contrary to English, for example, the words “serveur, serveuse” (waiter) are not used as terms of address. When you are in a restaurant, you should say: “S’il vous plaît !” or  “Excusez-moi.” Currently, the word “garçon” to address a waiter is outdated.

Similarly to English, “Docteur” (Doctor in a medical sense)  is a job or profession which we can use as a term of address in French. For example: “Puis-je vous parler un moment, docteur, s’il vous plaît?”  So, “Docteur” is the term of address for professions such as: “médecin, chirurgien, pharmacien, vétérinaire”. It is used for both masculine and feminine.

When a doctor teaches at the university, the title commonly used is: “Professeur.”

Likewise, “Monsieur ou Madame le Professeur” is used for university professors.

Some common titles in legal professions are:

  • For judges: Madame le Juge / Monsieur le Juge
  • For lawyers or notaries: Maître Nicole Chambost, Maître Christophe Remy

Some common titles in business management are:

  • For a CEO: Monsieur le Président-Directeur Général” and: “Madame la Présidente-Directrice Générale (PDG)
  • For a managing director: Monsieur le Directeur Général” and: “Madame la Directrice Générale

Some Tips To Learn Vocabulary:

Do you want to master vocabulary in French in a short time? Well, it is possible! Follow our advice:

Tip #1: Read, read, read!

This will help you familiarize with nouns, gender and the right spelling of words. Choose something you enjoy reading: magazines, novels or short stories (adapted according to your level), brochures, etc.

Tip #2: Do you like stand-up comedians and Youtubers?

Look for a French one! Listen to him or her with subtitles in French, if possible. This will help you improve colloquial vocabulary and slang.

Tip #3: Write little word cards

On one side, you write the word or phrase in French, you can add a picture, if you wish. On the other side, you write its definition. Then, put all of them inside your pencil case, choose one at random and try to remember the meaning. Do this at different moments during the day!

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Start learning today and achieve your aims! Come on and speak the language of Molière from today!

Take some times to read more articles we have written for you to enrich your French vocabulary and improve your language level.

Here with the list of vocabulary worksheets on many kinds of topics: