Useful for Spanish speakers. Business English vocabulary mistakes can be painfully hilarious. Have you ever used an English word that looks very similar to a word from your own language…only to discover it means something different? To avoid any more confusion in your work life (and to save yourself from more cringe moments) I recommend checking the most typical mix-ups in Business English vocabulary.
1. Contract vs Hire
Do you ever say “We need to contract a new employee” Oopsy! What you really want to say here is “We need to hire a new employee”. To hire someone = to employ someone.
But that mistake is easily made, because…contract is a word in English! New employees sign a contract: a legal document. For example, “I have a permanent contract”. Just remember that in a business context, we only use the noun (a contract), and not the action (to contract)
Is your head exploding yet? We’re only getting started!
When talking about your participation in a meeting or conference, we don’t say “assist”.
2. Reunion vs Meeting
“I have a work reunion at 10am” is…sadly incorrect. For a professional get-together, “I have a meeting at 10am” is a perfect sentence to say.
So, does reunion actually exist in English? Yes! But it normally means a collection of people who haven’t seen each other in a really long time, who are having a big catch up to reconnect. For example, “Last week was my high school reunion” or “every Christmas we have a huge family reunion”.
3. Clients vs Customers
This is probably one of the most common mistakes with business English vocabulary. Simply put: in a shop or a restaurant, places with cash and credit cards being passed around, you don’t receive clients…you receive customers.
We use “client” in a different context – normally to talk about someone you engage in services or conduct ongoing business with. For example, a graphic designer makes a logo design for a client.
4. Assist vs Attend
When talking about your participation in a meeting or conference, we don’t say “assist” (which means “to help”). Instead, we say “attend a meeting”. For example, “I can’t attend the Zoom meeting today, can we reschedule?”
Also, note that the expression is not “attend to a meeting”. It’s simply “attend a meeting”, nice and easy.
Ready for more fascinating mysteries of business English vocabulary? Last one, I promise!
5. Partner vs Colleague
That person who sits at the desk opposite yours and steals your soy milk from the office kitchen is your colleague, co-worker, or workmate. But definitely NOT your partner (or your friend, while we’re on the subject).
In fact, typical relationships that come to mind when hearing “partner” are: partner-in-crime, romantic partner, class partner…but nothing related to your desk buddy.
If you do hear “partner” in a professional context, it normally means the co-owners of a company. For example, “There is a group of 4 partners in this law firm”. Or, “There are 4 partners inTalktips. And Susie is the best one”.
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