Spanish at the Office

Meetings, emails, deadlines, small talk. Professional vocabulary for the workplace.

Office vocabulary

SpanishEnglishSpanishEnglish
la oficinaofficela reuniónmeeting
el jefe/abossel/la colegacolleague
el plazodeadlineel proyectoproject
la sedeheadquartersel departamentodepartment
el sueldosalarylas vacacionesvacation
el horarioschedulela jornadaworkday

Meeting phrases

Starting and managing meetings

Empecemos / Comencemos. (Let's begin.)
El orden del día es... (The agenda is...)
¿Alguien tiene algo que añadir? (Does anyone have anything to add?)
Pasemos al siguiente punto. (Let's move to the next point.)
En resumen... (In summary...)
¿Quedamos en que...? (So we agree that...?)

Email vocabulary

Common work email phrases

Le informo de que... (I inform you that...)
Con respecto a... (Regarding...)
Adjunto el informe. (The report is attached.)
Quedo a la espera de su respuesta. (I await your response.)
Le ruego que... (I request that you... + subjunctive)

Talking about deadlines

Time pressure

El plazo es el viernes. (The deadline is Friday.)
Necesito esto para mañana. (I need this by tomorrow.)
Voy con retraso. (I'm running behind.)
¿Se puede ampliar el plazo? (Can the deadline be extended?)
Lo tengo listo para las cinco. (I'll have it ready by five.)

Small talk at work

Water cooler conversations

¿Qué tal el fin de semana? (How was the weekend?)
¿Has visto lo de...? (Did you see the thing about...?)
¿Vamos a tomar un café? (Shall we get a coffee?)
¿Quedamos para comer? (Shall we meet for lunch?)
Que tengas buena tarde. (Have a good afternoon.)

Formal vs informal at work

Spain: Many offices use tú among colleagues, usted with clients.
Latin America: Varies widely. Mexico tends more formal. Argentina uses vos.
When in doubt: start with usted, switch to tú when invited.

Quick quiz

1. Meeting = _____.

2. Deadline = _____.

3. Let's begin = _____.

4. The report is attached = _____ el informe.

5. I'm running behind = Voy con _____.

6. Regarding = Con _____ a...

7. Shall we get a coffee? = ¿Vamos a _____ un café?

8. Salary = _____.

9. I await your response = Quedo a la _____ de su respuesta.

10. Boss = _____.

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