English at work

“Nice to meet you. I am joining the design team today.”

What you say when you meet somebody for the first time.

आपसे मिलकर अच्छा लगा।

say it as: Nice to / meet you · anywhere

“How have you been since the move to the new team?”

Greet somebody you have not seen for a while.

आप कैसे रहे?

say it as: How have you / been · anywhere

“It was nice talking to you — I will find you at the next session.”

Close a conversation properly instead of letting it trail off.

आपसे बात करके अच्छा लगा।

say it as: It was nice / talking to you · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“I want to take on more responsibility this quarter.”

Say what you would like to do.

मैं ___ करना चाहता/चाहती हूँ।

say it as: I want to / learn English · anywhere

“I feel like starting this one fresh.”

Say what you are in the mood for.

मेरा ___ करने का मन है।

say it as: I feel like / going out tonight · with friends

“I'd rather finish this properly than send something half-done.”

Say which of two things you prefer.

मैं ___ करना ज़्यादा पसंद करूँगा/करूँगी।

say it as: I'd rather / stay home tonight · anywhere

“I'm hoping to wrap this up before the weekend.”

Say what you want, while admitting it is not certain.

मैं ___ करने की उम्मीद कर रहा/रही हूँ।

say it as: I'm hoping to / finish by Friday · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“I need to check with my manager before I confirm.”

Say what is necessary for you.

मुझे ___ करना ज़रूरी है।

say it as: I need to / finish this · anywhere

“I have to attend a client call at four.”

Say what you are obliged to do, usually because somebody else decided.

मुझे ___ करना पड़ेगा।

say it as: I have to / leave by six · anywhere

“I must speak to the client before Friday.”

Say something is necessary — strongly, and from you.

मुझे ___ करना ही होगा।

say it as: I must / finish this today · anywhere

“I'm supposed to send the report every Monday.”

Say what is expected of you — often when it is not happening.

मुझे ___ करना चाहिए था / होता है।

say it as: I'm supposed to / submit it today · anywhere

“Can I add something here?”

Ask permission to do something.

क्या मैं ___ कर सकता/सकती हूँ?

say it as: Can I / ask you something · anywhere

“Can you share the deck before the meeting?”

Ask somebody to do something.

क्या आप ___ कर सकते हैं?

say it as: Can you / send me the file · with friends

“Could you please add me to that thread?”

Ask somebody to do something, politely.

क्या आप कृपया ___ करेंगे?

say it as: Could you please / repeat that · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“Could I have a word with you after the meeting?”

Ask permission politely.

क्या मैं ___ कर सकता/सकती हूँ? (विनम्र)

say it as: Could I / ask you something · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“Would you mind taking this call instead of me?”

Ask for something that costs the other person some effort.

क्या आपको ___ करने में परेशानी होगी?

say it as: Would you mind / opening the window · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“Do you mind if I bring one more person to the meeting?”

Check that something you want to do is alright with them.

क्या मैं ___ करूँ तो आपको ऐतराज़ है?

say it as: Do you mind / if I join you · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“I was wondering if we could move the meeting to Thursday.”

Make a request that the other person can refuse comfortably.

मैं सोच रहा/रही था/थी कि क्या ___।

say it as: I was wondering if / you could help me · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“Where is the meeting room on this floor?”

Ask where something or somebody is.

___ कहाँ है?

say it as: Where is / the station · anywhere

“Do you have any updates on this?”

Ask whether something is available.

क्या आपके पास कोई ___ है?

say it as: Do you have any / questions · anywhere

“How long does it take to run the full report?”

Ask how much time something needs.

___ करने में कितना समय लगता है?

say it as: How long does it take / to get there · anywhere

“I'm looking for last month's invoice — do you have it?”

Say what you are trying to find.

मैं ___ ढूँढ रहा/रही हूँ।

say it as: I'm looking for / a new job · anywhere

“Do you know how to export this as a spreadsheet?”

Ask whether somebody has a skill — and open the door to being taught.

क्या आपको ___ करना आता है?

say it as: Do you know / how to fix this · anywhere

“What's the difference between the internal report and the client one?”

Ask somebody to explain two things you keep mixing up.

___ और ___ में क्या फ़र्क़ है?

say it as: What's the difference / between the two plans · anywhere

“I don't know off the top of my head, but I can check.”

Say honestly that you do not have the answer.

मुझे नहीं पता।

say it as: I don't / know · anywhere

“I don't know how to run that report — could you show me once?”

Say that you are missing a skill — without apologising for it.

मुझे ___ करना नहीं आता।

say it as: I don't know / how to use this · anywhere

“As far as I know, the client has not seen the new version yet.”

Answer honestly when you believe something but are not certain.

जहाँ तक मुझे पता है, ___।

say it as: As far as I know, / the office is closed · anywhere

“I'm not sure whether we should raise it now or wait for the review.”

Say plainly that you have not decided or do not know.

मुझे पक्का नहीं पता कि ___।

say it as: I'm not sure / whether this is right · anywhere

“Let me take that off your plate.”

Offer to do something, without making it a question.

मुझे ___ करने दीजिए।

say it as: Let me / help you with that · anywhere

“Shall I send the file now, or after the meeting?”

Offer to do something, and let them decide.

क्या मैं ___ कर दूँ?

say it as: Shall I / call you later · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“Do you want me to join the call?”

Ask whether they would like you to do something.

क्या आप चाहते हैं कि मैं ___ करूँ?

say it as: Do you want me to / wait · with friends

“Would you like me to take the notes today?”

Offer politely — the version for customers and seniors.

क्या आप चाहेंगे कि मैं ___ करूँ?

say it as: Would you like me to / check it again · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“I'm sorry for missing the deadline — here is where it stands.”

Apologise for a specific thing you did.

___ के लिए मुझे खेद है।

say it as: I'm sorry for / being late · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“That was my mistake, not the team’s.”

Take responsibility plainly, without a long explanation.

वह मेरी ग़लती थी।

say it as: That was / my mistake · anywhere

“I apologise for the error in yesterday’s report.”

Apologise formally — in writing, or to a customer.

___ के लिए मैं क्षमा चाहता/चाहती हूँ।

say it as: I apologise for / the delay · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“It won't happen again; I have moved the deadline into my calendar.”

Close an apology by saying what changes.

ऐसा दोबारा नहीं होगा।

say it as: It won't / happen again · anywhere

“I usually check my email first thing.”

Say what you normally do.

मैं आम तौर पर ___ करता/करती हूँ।

say it as: I usually / wake up at six · anywhere

“I tend to check the numbers twice before I send anything.”

Say what you generally do — your usual way, not a rule.

मैं आम तौर पर ___ करता/करती हूँ।

say it as: I tend to / wake up early · anywhere

“I hardly ever work late these days.”

Say you almost never do something.

मैं शायद ही कभी ___ करता/करती हूँ।

say it as: I hardly ever / eat out · anywhere

“Every time I run the report, it takes ten minutes.”

Point at something that happens without fail.

जब भी मैं ___ करता/करती हूँ, ___।

say it as: Every time I call, / the line is busy · anywhere

“I don't like making decisions without the numbers in front of me.”

Say what you do not enjoy — without being rude about it.

मुझे ___ करना पसंद नहीं है।

say it as: I don't like / waiting · anywhere

“Thank you for covering for me last week.”

Thank somebody for a specific thing they did.

___ के लिए धन्यवाद।

say it as: Thank you for / helping me · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“I really appreciate you covering for me last week.”

Thank somebody with more weight than "thanks".

मैं ___ की सच में क़द्र करता/करती हूँ।

say it as: I really appreciate / your help · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“Thanks for letting me know about the change in schedule.”

Acknowledge information — the most-used reply in working life.

बताने के लिए धन्यवाद।

say it as: Thanks for / letting me know · anywhere

“That makes sense, given how tight the timeline is.”

Show you have understood and you agree.

यह बात समझ आती है।

say it as: That makes / sense · anywhere

“I was thinking the same when I saw the numbers.”

Agree and show you had got there yourself.

मैं भी यही सोच रहा/रही था/थी।

say it as: I was thinking / the same · with friends

“You're right about the risk — I had not thought it through.”

Concede a specific point — which makes the rest of your view credible.

___ के बारे में आप सही हैं।

say it as: You're right about / the timing · anywhere

“I agree that the deadline is too tight, and I think we should say so now.”

Say what exactly you agree with — not just that you agree.

मैं मानता/मानती हूँ कि ___।

say it as: I agree that / the process needs to change · anywhere

“It looks like the numbers do not match.”

Say what the evidence suggests, without claiming certainty.

ऐसा लगता है कि ___।

say it as: It looks like / it will rain · anywhere

“It's a bit too soon to decide, in my view.”

Say something is more than you want — gently.

यह थोड़ा ज़्यादा ___ है।

say it as: It's a bit too / expensive for me · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“The thing about working from home is that you have to be deliberate about talking to people.”

Single out the one thing that really matters about something.

___ के बारे में ख़ास बात यह है कि ___।

say it as: The thing about this job / is the travel · with friends

“How about splitting it into two smaller tasks?”

Float an idea casually.

___ करने के बारे में क्या ख़याल है?

say it as: How about / meeting at six · with friends

“Why don't we split this into two smaller tasks?”

Suggest something for both of you to do.

क्यों न हम ___ करें?

say it as: Why don't we / start with the numbers · anywhere

“I'd better confirm the numbers before I send this out.”

Say what is the sensible thing to do now — nobody is forcing you.

मुझे ___ कर लेना चाहिए (वरना दिक़्क़त होगी).

say it as: I'd better / go now · anywhere

“If I were you, I'd put it in writing before the meeting.”

Give advice by putting yourself in their place.

अगर मैं आपकी जगह होता, तो मैं ___ करता।

say it as: If I were you, / I would talk to the manager · anywhere

“We could always postpone it by a week if the data is not ready.”

Offer a fallback — an option nobody has to take.

हम चाहें तो ___ कर सकते हैं।

say it as: We could always / ask for more time · anywhere

“I'm going to send the summary by Friday.”

Say what you have already decided to do.

मैं ___ करने वाला/वाली हूँ।

say it as: I'm going to / apply next month · anywhere

“I'm thinking of restructuring the weekly report.”

Say what you are considering, without committing to it.

मैं ___ के बारे में सोच रहा/रही हूँ।

say it as: I'm thinking of / changing my job · anywhere

“I doubt we will finish by Friday at this rate.”

Say you think something will not happen.

मुझे नहीं लगता कि ___ होगा।

say it as: I doubt / they will agree · anywhere

“There's a good chance that the client asks for a discount, so let us decide now.”

Say something is likely, without promising it.

अच्छी संभावना है कि ___।

say it as: There's a good chance / that we will finish early · anywhere

“I didn't quite catch that. Could you say the number again?”

Say you did not hear — without saying "what?".

मैं ठीक से सुन नहीं पाया/पाई।

say it as: I didn't quite / catch that · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“What's the word for when two teams do the same work by mistake?”

Ask for the word you cannot remember, instead of stopping the sentence.

___ को अंग्रेज़ी में क्या कहते हैं?

say it as: What's the word for / the person who fixes pipes · with friends

“What I meant was that the report is ready, but the numbers are not final.”

Repair something you said badly, without starting an argument about it.

मेरा मतलब यह था कि ___।

say it as: What I meant was / that we need one more day · anywhere

“Let me put it another way — if we ship on Friday, support will be firefighting all weekend.”

Start again with different words, when the first explanation did not work.

मैं इसे दूसरे तरीक़े से कहता/कहती हूँ।

say it as: Let me put it / another way · anywhere

“It depends on whether the client approves the extra cost.”

Say that the answer is not fixed — it changes with something else.

यह ___ पर निर्भर करता है।

say it as: It depends / on the budget · anywhere

“The reason I pushed the meeting is that two people are on leave.”

Attach a reason to what you just said, clearly.

मैं ___ इसलिए ___ क्योंकि ___।

say it as: The reason I applied / is that I want bigger projects · anywhere

“What tends to happen is that the requirements change once the client sees a screen.”

Describe the usual pattern of events, based on experience.

आम तौर पर होता यह है कि ___।

say it as: What tends to happen / is that the last week takes as long · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“Let me think about that and come back to you before the end of the day.”

Ask for real time, rather than answering badly now.

मुझे इस पर सोचने दीजिए।

say it as: Let me think / about that · anywhere

“That's an interesting question — can I come back to you this afternoon?”

Buy three seconds after a hard question — and mean it.

यह दिलचस्प सवाल है।

say it as: That's an interesting / question · anywhere

“I'd say we need another week, but let me check with the team.”

Give an answer while marking it as an estimate rather than a fact.

मैं कहूँगा/कहूँगी कि ___।

say it as: I'd say / about two weeks · anywhere

“How should I put this — I do not think the client will accept it.”

Buy yourself a second before saying something difficult.

इसे कैसे कहूँ…

say it as: How should I / put this · anywhere

“In my opinion, we should test it with ten users before we build the rest.”

Mark clearly that what follows is your view, not a fact.

मेरी राय में, ___।

say it as: In my opinion, / the second option is safer · anywhere

“It seems to me that the delay is coming from approvals, not from the team.”

Give a view while leaving yourself room to be wrong.

मुझे ऐसा लगता है कि ___।

say it as: It seems to me / that we are rushing this · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“The way I see it, we either cut the scope or move the date.”

Introduce your reading of a situation, conversationally.

जैसा मैं देखता/देखती हूँ, ___।

say it as: The way I see it, / we have two real options · with friends

“From my perspective, sitting in support, the same three issues come back every week.”

Mark a view as coming from where YOU sit — your role, your side of it.

मेरे नज़रिए से, ___।

say it as: From my perspective, / the bigger risk is the timeline · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“I don't think we should promise a date before we have the design.”

Disagree with an idea — softly, and in the way English actually does it.

मुझे नहीं लगता कि ___।

say it as: I don't think / that is the real reason · anywhere

“I see your point, but the client has already approved the earlier version.”

Disagree with somebody without making it personal.

मैं आपकी बात समझता हूँ, पर ___।

say it as: I see your point, / but the timing does not work · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“What concerns me is that nobody owns this once it ships.”

Raise a worry without attacking anybody or blocking the idea.

मुझे जो चिंता है, वह यह है कि ___।

say it as: What concerns me / is that we have not tested it · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“I'm not entirely convinced that the numbers support that conclusion.”

Disagree seriously, while leaving the door open.

मुझे पूरी तरह यक़ीन नहीं कि ___।

say it as: I'm not entirely convinced / that this is the cheapest option · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“The launch went well. That said, support had a very hard week.”

Turn the sentence around after agreeing with something.

फिर भी, ___।

say it as: That said, / we should still check with the client · anywhere

“I wouldn't necessarily say that the campaign did not work — we measured it too early.”

Push back on something without calling it wrong.

मैं यह ज़रूरी नहीं कहूँगा/कहूँगी कि ___।

say it as: I wouldn't necessarily say / that it failed · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“Be that as it may, we have to ship something on Friday.”

Accept the point completely — and set it aside anyway.

चाहे जो भी हो, ___।

say it as: Be that as it may, / the deadline has not moved · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“It would be misleading to suggest that the drop was caused by one campaign.”

Challenge a claim formally, on the record, without calling anybody a liar.

यह कहना भ्रामक होगा कि ___।

say it as: It would be misleading / to suggest that the change had no cost · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“What I mean is that the delay is on our side, not theirs.”

Say it again, more clearly, when the first attempt did not land.

मेरा मतलब है कि ___।

say it as: What I mean is / that we should test it first · anywhere

“Just to clarify, is this going to the client or staying internal?”

Check your understanding before it becomes an expensive mistake.

बस स्पष्ट करने के लिए, ___।

say it as: Just to clarify, / we are talking about next Friday · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“Can I add something here? Support has data on exactly this.”

Get into a meeting without waiting to be invited.

क्या मैं यहाँ कुछ जोड़ सकता/सकती हूँ?

say it as: Can I add / something here · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“Are you saying that the client has already seen this version?”

Check that you have understood somebody correctly, before you react.

क्या आप यह कह रहे हैं कि ___?

say it as: Are you saying / that the whole thing has to be redone · anywhere

“Sorry to interrupt, but that number does not match the one in the report.”

Get into a conversation that is already running.

बीच में टोकने के लिए माफ़ी, पर ___।

say it as: Sorry to interrupt, / but I think we have the wrong date · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“It's not so much the number of meetings as the fact that none of them decide anything.”

Correct somebody’s idea of what the real issue is.

बात ___ की नहीं, ___ की है।

say it as: It's not so much the cost / as the time it takes · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“Could you elaborate on that? I want to make sure I take the right thing back to my team.”

Ask somebody to say more, without saying "I did not understand".

क्या आप इस पर थोड़ा और बताएँगे?

say it as: Could you elaborate / on that · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“Are we aligned on the scope, or should we write it down before we leave?”

Check that everybody actually agrees before the meeting ends.

क्या हम ___ पर एकमत हैं?

say it as: Are we aligned / on the deadline · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“The more we automate, the more time the team has for the hard problems.”

Link two things that grow together.

जितना ज़्यादा ___, उतना ज़्यादा ___।

say it as: The more you practise, / the better you become · anywhere

“Compared to the last quarter, complaints are down by half.”

Put two things side by side and say how one differs.

___ के मुक़ाबले, ___।

say it as: Compared to last year, / the numbers are much better · anywhere

“It turned out that two teams had been doing the same work for a month.”

Reveal what was actually going on, once you found out.

बाद में पता चला कि ___।

say it as: It turned out / that the file had been sent to the wrong address · anywhere

“Today I'd like to talk about the customer complaints from last quarter.”

Open a presentation by naming the subject in one line.

आज मैं ___ के बारे में बात करना चाहूँगा/चाहूँगी।

say it as: Today I'd like to talk about / why response times have doubled · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“Let me start with the one slide that matters, and we can go back if you want detail.”

Tell the room where you are beginning, so they can follow.

मैं ___ से शुरू करता/करती हूँ।

say it as: Let me start with / the numbers · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“What this shows is that we lose most people at the first screen.”

Tell the room what to conclude, instead of hoping they will.

इससे यह पता चलता है कि ___।

say it as: What this shows is / that the problem is the timing · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“To summarise, our next step is to test it with fifty customers.”

Close by saying the one thing you want remembered.

संक्षेप में, ___।

say it as: To summarise, / we need two more people · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“One example that comes to mind is the outage last March.”

Start a story when somebody asks "tell me about a time…".

एक उदाहरण याद आता है — ___।

say it as: One example that comes to mind / is when our biggest client threatened to leave · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“Moving on to the timeline — this is the part I would like your input on.”

Change section without losing the room.

अब ___ की ओर बढ़ते हैं।

say it as: Moving on to / the second point · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“What brings you here today? I am with the support team.”

Open a conversation with a stranger at an event.

आप यहाँ कैसे आना हुआ?

say it as: What brings you / here today · with friends

“How did you get into product, if you do not mind me asking?”

Ask somebody about their path — the question people enjoy answering.

आप ___ में कैसे आए?

say it as: How did you get into / teaching · with friends

“I'd love to hear more about how you handled the migration — could we get twenty minutes?”

Keep a conversation going, and make the other person want to continue it.

मैं ___ के बारे में और सुनना चाहूँगा/चाहूँगी।

say it as: I'd love to hear more / about how you set that up · polite — strangers, seniors, customers

“What if we do the first half now and decide about the rest in March?”

Put an option on the table without arguing for it yet.

अगर हम ___ करें तो?

say it as: What if we / split the work · anywhere

“Would you be open to running a small pilot before we commit?”

Test whether somebody would consider something, before you propose it.

क्या आप ___ पर विचार करेंगे?

say it as: Would you be open to / starting in March · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“The best we can offer is two people for three weeks, starting Monday.”

Name your limit clearly, without closing the conversation.

हम ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा ___ दे सकते हैं।

say it as: The best we can offer / is a two-week extension · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“I strongly believe that we are measuring the wrong thing.”

State a view you are prepared to defend.

मैं दृढ़ता से मानता/मानती हूँ कि ___।

say it as: I strongly believe / that we should fix this first · formal — writing, presentations, officials

“I would argue that hiring one more person solves less than fixing the process.”

Put forward a position, signalling that you know it is arguable.

मैं यह तर्क रखूँगा/रखूँगी कि ___।

say it as: I would argue / that the real cost is the time · formal — writing, presentations, officials