25 British Phrases You'll Hear at Work 🇬🇧 (Sound Instantly More Natural in English!)

British workplaces don't sound like textbooks. They sound softer, sometimes more indirect, maybe even a bit confusing. Someone says, hmm, that might be tricky. What they really mean is, that's a terrible idea. Might be difficult. I'm going to go over 25 phrases you might find in a British workplace. Let's start with softening phrases and ones that are very polite. These phrases are everywhere in British workplaces. The first one, just a quick question. Just a quick question. This might not be quick at all, but it is very common, both in person or over emails. Just a quick question. Does the meeting start at 10? I just wanted to check. This is a polite way to question something. And we do add that word just a lot when we want to soften something or make it more polite. I just wanted to check something with you quickly. I just wanted to check. Is the report finished? Would you mind? And then we have the ing form of the verb. This is just a very polite request. Would you mind doing this for me, please? In terms of formality, that one is quite formal, very polite. Would you mind doing this for me, please? Would you mind sending over the presentation? Thanks. When you get a chance. Again, this could be in person or via email. But what it means is, do it soon. I won't say now, but soon. When you get a chance. When you get a chance, can you go over the numbers again? Thanks. It might be worth. Again, this is followed by the ing form of the verb. It might be worth doing this. It might be worth asking. And this means, I think you should do this now. For example, it might be worth running this by the client first. It might be worth asking him if that's OK. It might be worth looking at the end again. I was wondering if. Again, this is up there with, would you mind doing something? And it's softer than, can you do this for me, please? I was wondering if you could send me that, please. I was wondering if you could look over my presentation, for example. And of course, if you want to make it even more polite, add just. I was just wondering if. I was just wondering if you could do this for me. Remember, British English avoids direct commands. So the softer you sound, the more professional you seem, often. These next phrases are for indirect criticism. And this is where learners often get caught out because British English is riddled with indirect criticism. We don't say things abruptly like, this is wrong or I don't like this. We will wrap it in soft language. That's interesting. Again, this depends very heavily on tone. But often, if it's said after a slight pause, it can mean I'm not convinced or I'm not sure about this. This is the presentation. Oh, that's interesting. Hard no. I'm not sure that would work. This means I don't think this is a good idea. It might be tricky. A euphemism for this is a problem. It might be tricky. We may need to revisit this. Meaning this isn't right. Interesting idea. We may need to revisit it. That means this isn't right. Let's rethink. Let's park that for now. It means we're not continuing this discussion. We're moving on. Let's park that for now. There are a few issues. There are a lot of problems. When you get the chance, can you look over the report again? There are a few issues. If my boss said that to me, I'd be thinking, oh dear, there are lots of mistakes. It is highly unlikely you will ever hear someone say directly that is wrong in a British workplace. This is what it might sound like in a real meeting. Yeah, it's an interesting idea, but it might be tricky. We may need to revisit it. And what they mean is this isn't going to work. These next ones are for meetings and collaboration at work. Shall we? This is a suggestion, not really a question. And it can precede something. Shall we look at this together? Shall we do this? Or it can just stand on its own, meaning let's proceed. Shall we? Let's go. Let's go to the meeting. Again, in the British workplace, when someone is leading, they might sound like they're suggesting, but they're not. Shall we? From a boss, that's not a question. That is saying let's go. Let's circle back. This means we'll return to this later. We'll return to this later. Let's circle back. We'll discuss this later. I'll loop you in or loop someone in. And that means to include them, to include them in the discussion. Reach out to. Thank you for reaching out. Reach out is a very common phrasal verb in the British workplace, and it means to get in touch with them. Please reach out to this client to make contact with them. Let's touch base. Let's catch up briefly. Let's touch base. Let's catch up briefly. Happy to. Insert action. Happy to look at this. Happy to go over it again. Happy to help. This is a polite way to agree. And these last ones are for deadlines and expectations. By close of play. You might hear this often, and it means by the end of the working day. So usually about 5 p.m. By close of play. If someone says I need that report by close of play, I need it before 5 p.m. By end of play today, it has the same meaning. So by the end of today, but it's slightly more informal. By end of play today. When would you be able to finish this, for example? This is used to apply subtle pressure. When would you be able to call the client? That's saying you need to call them quite soon. When would you be able to? I'm applying slight pressure for you to do that. We're working towards. That means this is a target. We're working towards a September deadline. As in, we need to finish by September. We're working towards a September deadline. Just flagging. This means I'm bringing this to your attention. I'm just flagging this is the second time they've cancelled. I'm just flagging a few issues in the review, for example. I'll leave it with you. Now it's your responsibility. That's what this means. I'll leave it with you. Please do this. It's now your responsibility. No rush. There is some rush. People say that to be polite. But even when someone says no rush, they often do want you to do it quite soon. British people soften deadlines, but they do still expect them to be met. So 25 phrases that hopefully will come in useful to you in the British workplace. And if you've ever felt confused by the language in a British workplace, it's probably not your English, but your style of English. You're probably not accustomed to the indirect way, sometimes passive-aggressive way, that British people communicate. The good news is once you understand these patterns, it does start to become clearer. I promise. If this was useful, please do have a look at this playlist, where in each video I go over 25 commonly used phrases in British English. Daily English. There's also another 20 phrases that are free in the PDF below. You just need to click on the link in the description. Put in your email. It will arrive in your inbox. Please do like and subscribe. I would love to see you here again. And hopefully I will see you in the next one. Have a wonderful day. Bye.