How to Say “Work” in French

Ways to say it

The term travail refers to labor, employment, occupation or the general concept of work. If you want to express the action of working or doing a specific task, you can use the verbs travailler or the slang term bosser. Additionally, se travailler is used to describe how something behaves when it is handled.

Which one should you use?

The choice of word depends on what kind of 'work' you mean. Use travail for labor or employment. Use œuvre when referring to a creative work such as a book, painting or musical composition. Use création to emphasize the act of making or the resulting product of an artistic or inventive process.

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

While travail is the most common and straightforward term, there are several slang options. Boulot is a popular slang term for a job or work, and taf is an informal slang term for work. For the action of working, bosser is a common slang verb.

Related words

Intransitive: to do a specific task (verb): travailler, bosser.

To behave in a certain way when handled. (verb): se travailler.

How do you pronounce it?

The pronunciation of travail is /tʁa.vaj/ and consists of two syllables.

What mistakes should you avoid?

English speakers often mistakenly use travail to mean 'a job' in the sense of a specific position. However, un emploi or un poste is more precise for a specific job vacancy or role.