Business English - Professional Expressions
Email Essentials
Opening
| Formal | Semi-formal | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Dear Mr./Ms. Tanaka, | Hi Tanaka-san, | 宛名 |
| I hope this email finds you well. | Hope you're doing well! | 挨拶 |
| I am writing to inquire about... | I'm reaching out about... | 目的 |
| Further to our conversation... | Following up on our chat... | 前回の続き |
| I am writing with regard to... | Just wanted to touch base about... | 〜について |
Body
| Formal | Casual | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Please find attached... | I've attached... | 添付 |
| I would appreciate it if you could... | Could you please...? | お願い |
| I would like to bring to your attention... | Just wanted to flag... | 注意喚起 |
| At your earliest convenience | When you get a chance | お時間のある時に |
| Please do not hesitate to contact me. | Feel free to reach out. | 気軽に連絡して |
| I look forward to hearing from you. | Looking forward to your reply! | 返信待ってます |
| I apologize for any inconvenience. | Sorry for the trouble! | ご迷惑おかけして |
Closing
| Formal | Semi-formal | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Yours sincerely, | Best regards, | Best, |
| Yours faithfully, | Kind regards, | Thanks, |
| Respectfully, | Warm regards, | Cheers, |
Meetings
Starting
- Let's get started / kick things off.
- Thank you all for joining / being here.
- The purpose of today's meeting is to...
- Let's go over the agenda.
Giving Opinions
- I think / I believe / In my opinion...
- From my perspective... / The way I see it...
- I'd argue that...
- If you ask me...
- To be honest, I feel that...
Agreeing
- I completely agree with you.
- That's a great point.
- I'm on board with that.
- That makes sense to me.
- I couldn't agree more.
- You took the words right out of my mouth.
Disagreeing (politely)
- I see your point, but...
- I appreciate your perspective, however...
- That's an interesting point, but I'd argue that...
- I'm not sure I agree entirely...
- With all due respect, I think...
- I see where you're coming from, but...
- I'd like to play devil's advocate here...
Asking for Clarification
- Could you elaborate on that?
- What do you mean by that?
- Could you give us an example?
- I'm not sure I follow. Could you explain?
- Just to clarify, you're saying...?
Wrapping Up
- Let's wrap up / Let's call it a day.
- To summarize / To sum up...
- The key takeaways are...
- Let's touch base again next week.
- I'll send around the meeting notes.
- Action items: [list tasks and owners]
Common Business Phrases
Project Management
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| move the needle | 大きな変化を起こす | This campaign should move the needle on sales. |
| low-hanging fruit | 簡単に達成できるもの | Let's start with the low-hanging fruit. |
| deep dive | 詳しく調べる | Let's do a deep dive into the data. |
| circle back | 後で戻る | Let's circle back to that topic later. |
| touch base | 連絡を取る | Let's touch base next week. |
| on track | 予定通り | The project is on track for Q3 launch. |
| behind schedule | 遅れている | We're behind schedule on this deliverable. |
| bottleneck | ボトルネック | What's the bottleneck here? |
| bandwidth | 余力 | I don't have the bandwidth for another project. |
| deliverable | 成果物 | What are the key deliverables? |
| stakeholder | 利害関係者 | We need to get buy-in from stakeholders. |
| roadmap | ロードマップ | What's the product roadmap for next year? |
| pivot | 方向転換する | We need to pivot our strategy. |
| scale | 拡大する | How do we scale this solution? |
| streamline | 効率化する | We need to streamline the process. |
| synergy | シナジー | There's great synergy between the two teams. |
| leverage | 活用する | Let's leverage our existing network. |
| pain point | 課題/問題点 | What are the customer pain points? |
| buy-in | 同意/賛同 | We need buy-in from management. |
| ROI | 投資利益率 | What's the ROI on this project? |
Negotiations
- We'd like to propose... (提案したい)
- That's a deal-breaker for us. (それは受け入れられない)
- Let's find a middle ground. (妥協点を見つけよう)
- We're open to negotiation. (交渉に応じる)
- We can be flexible on... (〜については柔軟に対応できる)
- That's non-negotiable. (それは譲れない)
- We'd like to counter with... (対案として)
- Let's table this for now. (一旦保留にしよう)
Presentations
Opening
- Good morning/afternoon everyone. Today I'd like to talk about...
- I'll be covering three main topics today.
- By the end of this presentation, you'll understand...
Transitions
- Moving on to the next point...
- Now let's turn to...
- Building on what I just said...
- This brings me to my next point.
- On a related note...
Data & Charts
- As you can see from this chart/graph...
- The data shows/indicates/suggests that...
- There has been a significant increase/decrease in...
- Compared to last year, we've seen a 20% growth.
- The trend is clearly upward/downward.
Closing
- In conclusion / To wrap up...
- I'd like to leave you with this thought...
- Are there any questions?
- Feel free to reach out if you have further questions.
Phone Calls
Answering
- Hello, this is [name] speaking.
- [Company name], how can I help you?
Asking to Speak to Someone
- Could I speak to [name], please?
- Is [name] available?
- I'm calling about...
Taking Messages
- I'm afraid he/she is not available at the moment.
- Can I take a message?
- Would you like to leave a message?
- I'll have him/her call you back.
Problems
- I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Could you repeat it?
- You're breaking up. (電波が悪い)
- I think we have a bad connection.
- Can you speak up a little?
Ending
- Thank you for calling.
- I'll follow up with an email.
- Take care / Have a good day.
Job Interviews
Common Questions & Model Answers
Tell me about yourself. - Start with current role, then background, then why you're here - "I'm currently a [role] at [company], where I focus on [key responsibility]. Before that, I [previous experience]. I'm excited about this opportunity because..."
What are your strengths? - Pick 2-3 relevant strengths with examples - "One of my key strengths is [X]. For example, in my last role, I [specific example]."
What are your weaknesses? - Show self-awareness and improvement - "I used to struggle with [X], but I've been working on it by [specific action]."
Why should we hire you? - Match your skills to their needs - "I believe my experience in [X] combined with my skills in [Y] make me a strong fit for this role."
Do you have any questions for us? - Always ask questions! Shows interest. - "What does success look like in this role?" - "What are the biggest challenges the team is facing?" - "What's the team culture like?"