Everyday office life

The set phrases you use every day at the office: greeting people when you arrive and saying goodbye when you leave before everyone else.

1. お疲つかれ様さまです。

   Thanks for your hard work.

   The all-purpose in-office greeting — it's what you say when you bump into someone in the hallway, answer an internal call, or say goodbye when leaving for the day; for clients and other outside contacts, switch to 「お世話になっております」 (see the "Business keigo" page). 「ご苦労様」 can only be used from a superior to a subordinate, so don't use it the other way around.

2. ちょっとご相談そうだんしたいことがあるのですが。

   There's something I'd like to run by you...

   「のですが」 leaves your sentence half-finished for the other person to pick up — the standard way to open a conversation at work; the 「ご」 in 「ご相談」 makes your own action sound polite.

3. 会議かいぎの資料しりょう、確認かくにんしていただけますか。

   Could you take a look at the meeting materials?

   「〜ていただけますか」 is one notch softer than 「〜てください」, and is the go-to form for making requests to colleagues and superiors.

4. すみません、電車でんしゃが遅おくれていて、少すこし遅おくれそうです。

   Sorry, my train is delayed, so I might be a little late.

   If you're going to be late, reach out **before** work hours start; the そう in 「遅れそうです」 is the appearance そう, meaning "on the verge of...".

5. 金曜日きんようび、お休やすみをいただきたいのですが。

   I'd like to take Friday off...

   Set phrase for requesting time off: the day off is something you “receive” from the company, hence 「いただく」; as usual, the sentence trails off with 「のですが」.

6. お先さきに失礼しつれいします。

   Excuse me, I'll be heading off first.

   A must-say for whoever leaves work first; those staying behind reply with 「お疲れ様でした」.

You report bad news to your section chief, receive a new deadline, and get invited to lunch along the way.

1. Subordinate

   課長かちょう、今いまお時間じかんよろしいでしょうか。

   Sir, do you have a moment right now?

   Your standard knock-on-the-door phrase before interrupting someone; 「よろしいでしょうか」 is one notch more polite than 「いいですか」.
2. section chief

   いいですよ。どうしました？

   Sure. What's up?
3. Subordinate

   例れいの資料しりょうですが、今日中きょうじゅうには終おわりそうもありません。

   About that document... I don't think I'll be able to finish it by the end of the day.

   「例の〜」 = "that one" you both know about; you should report bad news yourself first — that's the "hō" (report) in hō-ren-sō; 「そうもありません」 = it looks like it won't ...
4. section chief

   そうですか。では、明日あしたの朝あさまでにお願ねがいします。

   I see. Then please have it to me by tomorrow morning.

   「までに」＝ a deadline, “finish ... by”, which is a different thing from 「まで」, which indicates duration.
5. Subordinate

   承知しょうちしました。申もうし訳わけありません。

   Understood. I'm very sorry.

   「承知しました」 is the workplace version of 「分かりました」 — in customer-service situations, use 「かしこまりました」 (see the part-time job page), while with your boss 「承知しました」 is the more common choice; for apologies, 「申し訳ありません」 is more formal than 「すみません」.
6. section chief

   ところで、お昼ひる、一緒いっしょに行いきませんか。

   By the way, would you like to grab lunch together?

   「ところで」 is the "by the way" that marks a topic change; 「〜ませんか」 is a polite invitation, the workplace counterpart of the 「〜ない？」 you use with friends (see the Inviting & Declining page).
7. Subordinate

   いいですね。ぜひ。

   Sounds great. I'd love to.

   「ぜひ」is the positive reply when accepting an invitation, and one word is enough.