Spanish words for the office and work

More and more Indians are learning Spanish for work. Maybe your company has clients in Spain or Latin America, maybe you're aiming for a job that asks for Spanish, or maybe you just want to understand what your colleagues in Madrid are saying on calls. Whatever the reason, office vocabulary is where Spanish starts paying you back.

I worked as a translator at an international company, handling meetings, websites, emails and social media in Spanish and English. So I've seen which words come up again and again in real working life, and which ones trip people up. This post gives you the core Spanish business vocabulary: people, places, meetings, emails, documents, HR words and the phrases that hold a working day together. There's a big table to save and flashcards at the end. ¡Vamos!Let's go!Used to cheer someone on or get moving.

Basic Spanish office words to learn first

Start with the place itself and the things in it. As always, learn each noun with its article.

• la oficinathe officeAlmost the same as English.: the office.
• el trabajowork, jobFrom trabajar, to work.: work, or a job. Ir al trabajoto go to workAl is a plus el. is to go to work.
• la empresacompanyThe most common word for a business.: the company. You'll also hear la compañíacompanyA little more formal..
• el escritoriodeskAlso the computer desktop.: desk. In Spain people often just say la mesatable, deskAn everyday word..
• el ordenadorcomputerThe word used in Spain.: computer in Spain. In Latin America, it's la computadoracomputerThe Latin American word..
• el portátillaptopLiterally portable.: laptop, literally "portable".
• la impresoraprinterFrom imprimir, to print.: printer.
• la sala de reunionesmeeting roomLiterally room of meetings.: meeting room.

People at work in Spanish

Every office is a little world of people. Here's who's who:

• el jefethe bossLa jefa for a female boss. and la jefathe bossThe feminine form.: the boss.
• el compañero de trabajocolleagueCompañera for a woman.: colleague. People often just say compañerocolleague, mateShort and friendly..
• el equipoteamAlso equipment.: team. Trabajo en equipoteamworkLiterally work in team. is teamwork.
• el clienteclient, customerLa clienta for a woman.: client or customer.
• el proveedorsupplier, vendorFrom proveer, to provide.: supplier or vendor.
• el directordirector, managerLa directora for a woman.: director or senior manager.
• el becariointernLa becaria for a woman.: intern, mostly used in Spain.
• el empleadoemployeeLa empleada for a woman.: employee.

Job titles change with gender, just like adjectives. Mi jefa es muy organizada.My boss is very organised.Jefa and organizada, both feminine. The noun and the adjective both take the feminine ending. If you'd like the full story on gender, I compare it with Hindi in gender in Spanish and Hindi.

Departments in Spanish

When you introduce yourself at work, you'll usually say where you sit. Trabajo en el departamento de ventas.I work in the sales department.Trabajar en, to work in.

• ventassalesAlways plural here.: sales
• marketingmarketingSpanish uses the English word.: marketing, the English word is used
• recursos humanoshuman resourcesOften shortened to RR. HH.: human resources
• contabilidadaccountingFrom contar, to count.: accounting
• atención al clientecustomer serviceLiterally attention to the client.: customer service
• informáticaITIn Spain. Also called TI.: IT in Spain
• logísticalogisticsAlmost the same as English.: logistics
• direcciónmanagementAlso means address.: management, the senior team

Notice direcciónmanagement, addressTwo meanings.: it also means "address" and "direction". Context will tell you which one is meant.

Meetings: the Spanish words you'll hear on every call

Meetings are where most of us first use Spanish at work. The key word is la reuniónthe meetingPlural: las reuniones., and you'll hear it a lot.

• tener una reuniónto have a meetingTener is the usual verb.: to have a meeting. Tengo una reunión a las diez.I have a meeting at ten.A very useful sentence.
• la videollamadavideo callVideo plus call.: video call.
• el orden del díaagendaThe list of meeting topics.: the agenda of a meeting. Careful: la agendadiary, plannerYour personal calendar. usually means your diary or planner.
• el plazodeadline, time frameA very common work word.: deadline or time frame. You'll also hear la fecha límitedeadlineLiterally limit date..
• el proyectoprojectAlmost the same as English.: project.
• el presupuestobudget, quoteTwo meanings at work.: budget, and also a price quote.
• aplazarto postponeA useful meeting verb.: to postpone. And to move a meeting earlier, use adelantarto bring forwardThe opposite of aplazar..

If meetings are your main goal, my post on business Spanish phrases for meetings gives you full sentences for opening, agreeing, disagreeing and closing.

Email and documents in Spanish

So much of office life happens in the inbox. Here are the words you'll see every day:

• el correo electrónicoemailOften just el correo.: email. Most people just say el correoemail, mailThe everyday short form., and many say el emailemailThe English word works too..
• enviarto sendMandar is also common.: to send. In everyday speech, mandarto sendMore casual. is common too.
• adjuntarto attachFor files in emails.: to attach. el archivo adjuntoattachmentThe attached file. is the attachment.
• responderto replyAlso contestar.: to reply. Responder a todosreply allUse with care! is reply all.
• el informereportA key office word.: report.
• el documentodocumentSame as English.: document.
• la carpetafolderNot a carpet!: folder.
• la facturainvoice, billFor payments.: invoice.
• el contratocontractAlmost the same as English.: contract.
• firmarto signFrom firma, signature.: to sign. la firmasignature, firmTwo meanings. is a signature, and also a firm.

A few email openings and closings to start with:

• Hola, Marta:Hi Marta,Spanish uses a colon after the greeting. is a friendly opening. Notice that Spanish uses a colon after the name, not a comma.
• Estimado señor García:Dear Mr García,Formal opening. is the formal version.
• Un saludoregardsThe most common sign-off. is a common, friendly sign-off.
• Atentamenteyours sincerelyA formal sign-off. is formal.

There's a lot more to say about this, so I've written a separate guide on how to write a formal email in Spanish.

HR, contracts and jobs: Spanish words for your career

These words come up when you're applying for a job, signing a contract or asking for leave.

• el puestoposition, postA job role.: a position or role. el puesto de trabajojob positionThe full phrase. is the full phrase.
• la entrevistainterviewAlso used for journalism.: interview.
• el currículumCV, résuméOften written CV.: CV or résumé.
• el sueldosalaryThe everyday word.: salary. El salariosalaryMore formal. is a little more formal.
• el horarioworking hours, scheduleFrom hora, hour.: working hours or timetable.
• las vacacionesholiday, vacationAlways plural.: holidays. Always plural in Spanish.
• estar de bajato be on sick leaveVery Spain Spanish.: to be on sick leave, in Spain.
• el teletrabajoremote workTele plus work.: remote work. Hoy teletrabajo.I'm working from home today.Teletrabajar is the verb.
• contratarto hireFrom contrato.: to hire.
• despedirto fire, to say goodbyeTwo very different meanings!: to fire someone. It also means to say goodbye to someone, so context matters a lot here.
• el ascensopromotionFrom ascender, to go up.: promotion.

One very Spanish work word: el puentelong weekendLiterally a bridge.. It literally means "bridge". When a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, many people take the Monday or Friday off too, "bridging" the gap to the weekend. You'll hear ¿Haces puente?Are you taking the long weekend?Hacer puente, to bridge. before every holiday.

Office verbs and everyday work phrases

Words become useful when you put them in sentences. These are the phrases I'd learn first at A2:

• ¿Puedes revisar el informe?Can you check the report?Revisar, to check or review.: revisarto check, to reviewNot to revise for exams. means to check or review.
• Te envío el archivo ahora.I'll send you the file now.The present tense for the near future.: Spanish often uses the present tense for things you're about to do.
• Adjunto el presupuesto.Please find the quote attached.Literally I attach the quote.: short and very common in emails.
• ¿Tienes un momento?Do you have a moment?A polite way to interrupt.: a gentle way to start a chat with a colleague.
• Estoy en una reunión.I'm in a meeting.Location, so estar.: notice estarTo be (right now)For how or where something is: feelings, states, location. for where you are.
• Lo tengo para el viernes.I'll have it by Friday.Para for deadlines.: paraby, forFor deadlines. marks a deadline.
• ¿Cuál es el plazo?What's the deadline?Plazo, deadline.: always worth asking!

TúyouThe informal you. or ustedyouThe formal you.? Being polite at work

Hindi speakers have an advantage here, because we already switch between तुम and आप. Spanish has túyouInformal. and ustedyouFormal..

In many offices in Spain, colleagues use túyouInformal. with each other, often even with the boss. With clients, people you've never met, and in formal emails, start with ustedyouFormal. and let the other person invite you to switch. Latin American workplaces can be more formal, so listen first and follow their lead. I go deeper into this in tú vs usted.

Spanish office false friends to avoid

These words look like English but mean something else. They cause real misunderstandings at work.

So La reunión fue un éxito.The meeting was a success.Éxito means success. is great news, and asistir a una reuniónto attend a meetingAsistir, to attend. means to attend one, not to help at it. I've collected many more of these in Spanish false friends.

The big Spanish business vocabulary table

Save this one for your first week of Spanish at work.

Flashcards: Spanish office words

Flip each card and try to say the meaning before you look.

Keep going

Here's a small challenge for this week: write a three-line email in Spanish to an imaginary colleague. Greet them, say you're attaching a report, and ask about the deadline. You'll use adjuntarto attachAdjunto el informe., el informereportA key office word. and el plazodeadlineAlways worth asking about. in a real context, and that's how words stick.

If you want to see where Spanish can take your career, read Spanish level for jobs. And when you're ready to practise office conversations out loud, join one of my live A2 batches on Google Meet. We're never more than 5 in a group, so you'll get plenty of speaking time. If your team needs something translated between Spanish and English, have a look at my translation services too. ¡Venga!Come on!A friendly push to get going.