travailleur
/tʁa.va.jœʁ/
The English phrase 'hard working' is translated into French as travailleur.
This phrase is used to describe a person who puts a lot of effort and care into their work.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective changes based on gender and number: travailleur is the masculine form, travailleuse is the feminine form, travailleurs is the masculine plural form and travailleuses is the feminine plural form.
How do you pronounce it?
/tʁa.va.jœʁ/. The word has 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- The word travailleur shares the same root as the English word 'travel', because in the Middle Ages, 'travail' referred to a painful journey or struggle.
- While travailleur means 'hard working', the verb travailler can also mean 'to knead' dough or 'to rework' a piece of metal.
- In certain French-speaking professional contexts, calling someone a travailleur de l'ombre means they are a 'hard worker in the shadows', describing someone who performs essential tasks without seeking recognition.
Examples in context
- Ce garçon travailleur ne peut qu'avoir du succès.That hard working boy is bound to succeed.This sentence shows how to use travailleur to describe a boy.Tatoeba #1623544 by sacredceltic, translation #67887 by Lumi_alt
- Il est honnête et travailleur, mais son frère est tout le contraire.He is honest and hard-working, but his brother is the exact opposite.This sentence uses travailleur to describe a person's character.Tatoeba #412103 by trotter, translation #300402 by Tom9358
- Les Chinois sont de gros travailleurs.The Chinese are a hard-working people.This sentence uses the plural form travailleurs to describe a group of people.Tatoeba #426104 by gall, translation #277515 by CN
- Elle est infatigable et très tenace dans son travail.She is tireless and very tenacious in her work.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Nathan are talking about a new colleague.
- ManonComment trouves-tu le nouveau collègue ?What do you think of the new colleague?
- NathanJe trouve qu'il est très travailleur.I think he is very hard working.
- ManonC'est vrai, il finit toujours tout son travail.That's true, he always finishes all his work.
- NathanOui, Nathan est vraiment sérieux.Yes, Nathan is really serious.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry travailleur, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries travailleur, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
