The most common way to say “office” in French is le bureau. But is that the word you’d use for a doctor's office, a post office, or your home office? Not always!

As you learn French, you'll discover that context is key. Choosing the right word for “office” can make you sound more like a native speaker and help you understand conversations more clearly.

Let's dive into nine different ways to talk about an “office” in French, from the corporate headquarters to your cozy workspace at home!

1. The standard 'office' – le bureau

The most common and direct translation for 'office' in French is le bureau. It's a masculine noun, so it's always preceded by le or un.

Crucially, le bureau has a very common dual meaning. It can refer to the entire room or building where you work (an office), but it also means the specific piece of furniture you work at (a desk). This is one of the most important distinctions to learn.

So how do you tell the difference? Context is everything. The surrounding words in the sentence will almost always make the meaning clear. Prepositions and verbs are your best clues.

When referring to the place of work, you'll often hear phrases like aller au bureau (to go to the office) or travailler dans un bureau (to work in an office). Here, the context of movement and location makes it clear we're talking about the building or room.

When talking about the piece of furniture, you might say je suis assis à mon bureau (I am sitting at my desk) or pose le livre sur le bureau (put the book on the desk). The actions of sitting at or placing something on it point directly to the furniture.

The plural form is les bureaux. This can mean multiple desks or multiple offices (often a company's headquarters), like in Les bureaux de l'entreprise sont à Paris (The company's offices are in Paris). You'll also see it in the common phrase les heures de bureau, meaning 'office hours'.

💡 * Je vais au bureau tous les matins. (I go to the office every morning.)

Mon ordinateur est sur mon bureau. (My computer is on my desk.)

Elle travaille dans un grand bureau avec vue sur la ville. (She works in a big office with a view of the city.)

Range ton bureau, s'il te plaît. (Tidy up your desk, please.)

Les bureaux ferment à 18h. (The offices close at 6 p.m.)

The 'workplace' – le lieu de travail

The most direct and formal way to say “the workplace” in French is le lieu de travail.

This phrase literally translates to “the place of work.” The word lieu means “place,” and travail means “work.” This direct translation makes it one of the easier French vocabulary terms to remember.

Le lieu de travail is primarily used in formal, professional, or administrative contexts. You are most likely to encounter it in official documents like employment contracts, company policy manuals, or legal texts regarding labor laws.

In casual, everyday conversation, French speakers rarely use le lieu de travail. Instead, they opt for more common and less formal terms. For an office job, you would simply say le bureau (the office). For work in general, the informal word le boulot is very common.

For example, you would tell a friend, “Je vais au bureau” (I'm going to the office), not “Je vais à mon lieu de travail.” However, a safety poster at your office might read, “Sécurité sur le lieu de travail” (Safety in the workplace).

The plural form, les lieux de travail, refers to multiple workplaces and is often used when discussing regulations or trends that affect various places of employment.

💡 * L'employeur doit garantir la sécurité sur le lieu de travail.

Il est interdit de fumer sur le lieu de travail.

Mon lieu de travail se trouve en centre-ville.

Le télétravail a redéfini notre conception du lieu de travail.

The professional's office or practice – le cabinet

When referring to a professional's office or private practice in French, the specific and essential term you need is le cabinet.

Le cabinet is not a general-purpose office. It specifically denotes the workplace of professionals who offer services and receive clients or patients, such as doctors, lawyers, or consultants.

You will most commonly hear this term used for:

Le cabinet médical/du médecin: The doctor's office/practice
Le cabinet d'avocats: The law firm/office
Le cabinet dentaire: The dental practice
Le cabinet de conseil: The consulting firm

It's crucial to distinguish le cabinet from le bureau. Le bureau is a general office where administrative or corporate work is done. A doctor sees patients in son cabinet, but an office worker goes to son bureau.

Remember that le cabinet is a masculine noun. The plural form, referring to multiple practices or a large firm, is les cabinets.

💡 * Je dois aller au cabinet du médecin demain pour un contrôle.

Mon avocate travaille dans un grand cabinet en centre-ville.

Le cabinet dentaire m'a appelé pour confirmer mon rendez-vous.

Il a fondé son propre cabinet de conseil en stratégie.

The 'company' or 'firm' (slang) – la boîte

A very common slang term you'll hear for a 'company' or 'firm' is la boîte.

Literally, la boîte means 'the box'. In a professional context, however, this informal term is widely used to refer to one's workplace, company, or business. Think of it as the French equivalent of casually saying 'the firm' or 'the office'.

You'll hear la boîte used among colleagues and friends in everyday conversation. It’s informal but perfectly acceptable when talking about your job or the company you work for. For instance, you would talk about 'les projets de la boîte' (the company's projects).

As a key grammatical point, boîte is a feminine noun. Therefore, it always uses feminine articles and adjectives, such as la boîte (the company), une bonne boîte (a good company), or ma boîte (my company).

💡 * Je vais à la boîte vers 9h. (I'm going to the office around 9 a.m.)

C'est une super boîte, ils traitent bien leurs employés. (It's a great company, they treat their employees well.)

Il a changé de boîte l'année dernière. (He switched companies last year.)

L'ambiance dans ma boîte est très détendue. (The atmosphere at my firm is very relaxed.)

The 'job' or 'work' (slang) – le boulot

When talking about work in French, you'll often hear the informal term le boulot, which is a common slang word for 'job' or 'work'.

Le boulot is the casual, everyday equivalent of the more standard French word le travail. While travail is used in all contexts, boulot is reserved for more relaxed, informal situations.

This word is extremely common in spoken French. It's not considered rude or vulgar, just familiar. You can safely use it with friends, colleagues, and in most day-to-day conversations about your professional life.

Remember that boulot is a masculine noun. You will always see it as le boulot (the work) or un boulot (a job). For example, 'J'ai un nouveau boulot' (I have a new job).

The term is famously used in the French expression 'métro, boulot, dodo,' which literally means 'metro, work, sleep.' This phrase is used to describe the monotonous daily grind of life.

To sound more natural in casual French conversations, swapping le travail for le boulot is a simple and effective change. Just avoid using it in very formal settings like a job interview or official documents.

💡 * Je dois aller au boulot. (I have to go to work.)

Elle a trouvé un nouveau boulot en ville. (She found a new job in the city.)

J'ai beaucoup de boulot cette semaine. (I have a lot of work this week.)

La vie, c'est métro, boulot, dodo. (Life is the daily grind.)

The 'workspace' – l'espace de travail

The most direct and widely accepted French translation for “workspace” is l'espace de travail. Literally meaning “the space of work,” this term is standard and used across professional, technical, and everyday contexts. It's the go-to phrase for any environment, physical or digital, dedicated to work.

When referring to a physical area, l'espace de travail can mean your desk, your office, a cubicle, or a co-working area. It describes the tangible environment where you perform your job. For instance, a manager might talk about improving the office layout by saying, Nous allons réorganiser l'espace de travail pour améliorer la collaboration (We are going to reorganize the workspace to improve collaboration).

In the digital realm, l'espace de travail is just as common. It's the standard term for the user interface in software applications like Slack, Asana, or Adobe Creative Suite where projects are managed and created. A software tutorial might instruct you to Créez un nouvel espace de travail pour votre projet (Create a new workspace for your project).

Unlike slang terms, l'espace de travail is a formal and universally understood phrase. Whether you are discussing interior design for a new office or configuring a project management tool, this is the correct and professional term to use. It carries no informal connotations and is appropriate in any situation related to work environments.

💡 * J'ai besoin d'un espace de travail calme pour me concentrer.

Notre entreprise offre des espaces de travail flexibles à tous les employés.

Vous pouvez inviter des collaborateurs à rejoindre votre espace de travail numérique.

L'ergonomie de mon espace de travail est très importante pour ma santé.

The 'company' or 'business' – l'entreprise

The primary and most common French word for a 'company,' 'business,' or 'firm' is l'entreprise. This term is versatile and can refer to any business entity, from a small startup to a large corporation.

It's important to know that entreprise is a feminine noun. You would say une entreprise (a company). Since it begins with a vowel, the definite article la contracts to l', resulting in l'entreprise (the company).

A related and more formal term is une société, which is often used in legal or financial contexts, similar to 'corporation' or 'society'. The person who creates a business is called an entrepreneur (masculine) or entrepreneuse (feminine).

💡 * Il travaille pour une grande entreprise américaine. (He works for a big American company.)

Mon père a créé sa propre entreprise il y a dix ans. (My father started his own business ten years ago.)

L'entreprise a annoncé d'excellents résultats ce trimestre. (The company announced excellent results this quarter.)

Elle est la directrice d'une petite entreprise locale. (She is the director of a small local business.)

The 'headquarters' – le siège social

The 'headquarters' – le siège social

Le siège social is the official and legal term for a company's headquarters or registered office. This is the address that is legally registered with the authorities and used for all official correspondence.

You will typically encounter le siège social in formal contexts such as business reports, legal documents, company websites, and news articles about corporations. It specifically refers to the administrative center of a business.

The term literally translates to "social seat." Siège means "seat," and social in this context refers to a company or society (société). Think of it as the official "seat" of the company where its management is based.

💡 * Le siège social de notre entreprise est à Paris. (Our company's headquarters is in Paris.)

Toutes les décisions importantes sont prises au siège social. (All important decisions are made at the headquarters.)

Vous devez envoyer le courrier au siège social de la société. (You must send the mail to the company's headquarters.)

1. The 'agency' or 'branch' – l'agence

The primary French word for an 'agency' or a local 'branch' of a business is l'agence. It is a feminine noun (une agence). The l' is a contraction of the feminine article la because agence begins with a vowel.

You will commonly see l'agence used to describe a service-based business. It's often followed by de or d' to specify its purpose. Key examples include une agence de voyages (a travel agency), une agence immobilière (a real estate agency), or une agence de publicité (an advertising agency).

A very frequent use of l'agence is to refer to the local branch of a bank. If you need to visit your bank in person, you are going to l'agence. For example, you might ask, Où est l'agence BNP la plus proche ? (Where is the nearest BNP branch?).

The plural form is les agences. This is used when referring to multiple branches or agencies. For example: Cette entreprise a des agences dans toutes les grandes villes. (This company has branches in all major cities.)

💡 * Je vais à l'agence pour ouvrir un compte bancaire. (I am going to the branch to open a bank account.)

L'agence de voyages nous a recommandé un hôtel fantastique. (The travel agency recommended a fantastic hotel to us.)

Il travaille comme agent dans une agence immobilière. (He works as an agent in a real estate agency.)

La plupart des agences sont fermées le dimanche. (Most branches are closed on Sundays.)

Are there other ways to say 'office' in French?

Our list features the most common ways to say 'office' in French, from the general bureau to more specific terms like cabinet or étude. But the French language is rich with professional jargon, regional variations, and even slang that you might encounter in different work environments.

You can also do an online search for 'comment dire bureau en ___' followed by a specific professional field, like 'droit' (law) or 'médecine' (medicine), to find industry-specific terms.

You might discover some interesting synonyms for bureau this way. Before using a new term, always check its definition and observe how it's used in context to ensure you're conveying the right meaning.

Pay close attention as you watch French TV shows, films, or news reports about the workplace. You'll start to notice the subtle differences in how people refer to their 'office'.

And if you’re looking for more vocabulary related to the workplace in French, the WordReference entry for bureau is an excellent starting point!

I hope this guide has been helpful in navigating the various ways to say 'office' in French. Mastering these nuances will not only improve your vocabulary but also help you sound more like a native speaker in professional settings. Bonne continuation in your French learning journey!

'9 ways to say "office" in French'