Self-introduction at work: Introducing yourself to your new team

💬 Au is à + le merged, used before a department name: au service client "in customer service". Use à la before feminine names, as in à la compta "in accounting".

💬 Tutoyer means to address someone with tu. Its opposite is vouvoyer, which means to use vous.

🇫🇷 Many French offices switch to tu quickly between peers, but it is usually offered, not assumed. Wait for a colleague or your manager to suggest it, especially in more traditional workplaces.

💬 With someone you call vous, this becomes si vous voulez.

🇫🇷 This is a warm way to accept an offer, like a coffee or an invitation to lunch. It sounds friendlier than a plain oui.

💬 French uses the present tense with depuis for something that is still going on. Here tu travailles covers "have you been working".

💬 Depuis plus a length of time answers "how long so far". Swap the time freely: depuis six mois "for six months".

💬 This bounces a question straight back to the other person. With someone you call vous, say Et vous ?.

💬 In casual speech, the question word can sit at the end of the sentence, as with d'où here. Tu habites où ? "Where do you live?" works the same way.

💬 Nationalities take a small letter in French and change for women: a woman says anglaise. The final s is silent in anglais but heard as a z sound in anglaise.

💬 French has its own spelling for some foreign cities, and London becomes Londres. The final s is silent: (lond-ruh).

💬 Use à before a city name: à Lyon, à Londres. For most countries you use en, as in en France.

💬 Déjà goes between as and rencontré. The same spot works for other short words, as in Tu as bien dormi ? "Did you sleep well?".

💬 Me goes before the action word, not after it as in English. The same pattern gives Tu peux m'aider ? "Can you help me?".

💬 This is the tu version of please. With vous it becomes s'il vous plaît.

🇫🇷 Asking a colleague to introduce you around is normal on your first day in France. Introductions often happen desk by desk with a handshake or a quick hello.

🇫🇷 In many French offices, the coffee break is where colleagues really get to know each other. Joining in on your first days helps you fit in.

💬 Vers before a time means roughly then. Use à dix heures for exactly ten.

💬 This means later today only. For another day, say À plus tard "see you later" or À demain "see you tomorrow".