Kilo Lingo

le

masculine

/tʁavaj/

Line drawing of travail
Coloured illustration of travail
#211 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

work, job

Word origin

From Late Latin tripalium, a three-staked instrument of torture, from tres ('three') and palus ('stake'); the sense passed through 'torment' to 'toil, work'.

Origin
Latin
Root
tripalium
English cognates
travail, travel

Grammar

Gendermasculine
Pluraltravaux

Examples

au .

She loves her job and never counts her hours at the office.

.

Teamwork is essential to finish this project.

.

The roadworks in the street blocked the traffic for three months.

.

My job starts at nine in the morning.

concentration.

This work requires a lot of patience and concentration.

a un pluriel irrégulier : travaux (works, works of art, construction works). Au singulier, il désigne l'activité professionnelle ou l'effort intellectuel. Boulot (informal) et job (borrowed from English) sont des synonymes familiers très courants. Être au travail (to be at work) vs travailler (to work, verb).

Les travaux publics (public works) et les grandes oeuvres désignent les constructions d'infrastructure. Travail à la chaîne (assembly line work), travail d'équipe (teamwork), travail à mi-temps (part-time work) - les collocations professionnelles sont nombreuses. Bon courage dans ton travail est plus encourageant que bon courage dans ton boulot dans un contexte semi-formel.

Where this fits

Used in

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French · Free printables

travail: worksheet, infographic and listicle

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This word is part of lesson 5.