❓💼🔧

How to Say ‘Are you working on that?’ in French

Vous travaillez là-dessus ?

voo trah-vah-YAY lah duh-SUE

[voo trah-vah-YAY lah duh-SUE]

💬 Usage Tip: Là-dessus literally means "on that". It's an everyday way to refer back to something just mentioned, as in J'y réfléchis là-dessus "I'm thinking about that".

🇫🇷 In France: This is the follow-up after you name a flaw. Have a concrete fix ready to describe.

Phrase Breakdown

Vous travaillez

voo trah-vah-YAY

You are working

'Travaillez' sounds like 'tra-va-YAY'. The 'ill' makes a 'y' sound, and the '-ez' ending sounds like 'ay'.

Example

Vous travaillez ici ?

Do you work here?

Words in this phrase

Vous

[voo]

you

Used to refer to the person or people being addressed.

Example

Vous aimez le film?

Do you like the movie?

travaillez

[trah-vah-YAY]

work

Form of 'travailler' (to work) used with 'vous'.

Example

Vous travaillez le lundi ?

Do you work on Mondays?

là-dessus ?

lah duh-SUE

on that?

Pronounced 'la-duh-SU'. The 'u' is said with rounded lips, like 'ee' with pouted lips. Let your voice rise at the end for the question.

Example

Je travaille là-dessus.

I'm working on it.

Words in this phrase

là

[lah]

there (part of 'là-dessus')

With 'dessus' it means 'on that' or 'on it'.

Example

Je réfléchis là-dessus.

I'm thinking about that.

dessus

[duh-SUE]

on it

With 'là', means 'on that (one)'.

Example

Pose le livre dessus.

Put the book on it.

Guides for French learners

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.

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