What does congé in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word congé in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use congé in French.

The word congé in French means leave, notice, sabbatical, fillet, foil, foil top, discharge, leave, have a day off, have time off, be off work, annual leave, study leave, training leave, sick leave, maternity leave, childbirth leave, parental leave, paternity leave, sabbatical leave, unpaid leave, special leave, leave for a specific purpose, hand in your notice, take time off, give notice, give his/her notice, give notice to, give notice to , give notice, give your notice, be on leave, be on annual leave, be on sick leave, be on parental leave, day off, take some days off, take your leave, take your leave of , take leave of, take a day off, week off. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word congé

leave

nom masculin (période de vacances)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Pierre est en congé pendant deux semaines.
Peter is on leave for two weeks.

notice

nom masculin (résiliation d'un contrat)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le directeur lui a signifié son congé.
The director gave her his notice.

sabbatical

nom masculin (position non active de fonctionnaire)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Paul s'est mis en congé de son administration pour une mission humanitaire de 2 ans.
Paul's management have put him on a sabbatical for a two-year humanitarian mission.

fillet

nom masculin (mécanique : arrondi entre 2 côtés) (mechanics)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le congé remplace souvent un angle vif, notamment pour s'affranchir d'une concentration de contrainte trop importante.
A fillet often replaces an acute angle, particularly to relieve too great a concentration of stress.

foil, foil top

nom masculin (attestation de paiement de droit) (on wine bottle)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les bouteilles de vin arborent la plupart du temps un congé à l'effigie de Marianne à leur sommet.
Wine bottles usually have a foil top bearing a likeness of Marianne.

discharge

nom masculin (fin du service militaire) (military)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les libérables attendent leur congé avec impatience.

leave

nom masculin (armée : absence de plus de 30 jours) (military)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Son capitaine lui a accordé un congé de fin de campagne.

have a day off, have time off, be off work

locution verbale (avoir un jour de repos)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Mercredi, j'ai congé pour rester avec les enfants.

annual leave

nom masculin (jour de congé payé)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

study leave

nom masculin (absence pour se former)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

training leave

nom masculin (absence pour apprentissage)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Pour suivre sa nouvelle formation de technicien, Paul a droit à un congé individuel de formation pris sur son temps de travail.

sick leave

nom masculin (arrêt de travail pour cause de maladie)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Monsieur Durand n'est pas au bureau, il est en congé maladie.

maternity leave

nom masculin (absence pour naissance)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
L'Organisation Internationale du Travail recommande 14 semaines de congé de maternité.
The International Labour Organization recommends fourteen weeks of maternity leave.

childbirth leave

nom masculin (absence pour cause de naissance)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

parental leave

nom masculin (arrêt de travail pour élever un enfant)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le congé parental d'éducation est un congé pouvant être pris par l'un des parents salariés, afin de participer à l'éducation de son enfant.

paternity leave

nom masculin (arrêt de travail pour un nouveau père)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

sabbatical leave

nom masculin (congé non rémunéré) (uncountable)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

unpaid leave

nom masculin (absence non rémunérée)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

special leave, leave for a specific purpose

nom masculin (France (type de congé légal)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

hand in your notice

locution verbale (démissionner)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

take time off

locution verbale (poser un congé)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

give notice, give his/her notice, give notice to

locution verbale (renvoyer [qqn])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Le chef du personnel a donné son congé à cet employé indélicat.

give notice to , give notice, give your notice

locution verbale (avertir [qqn] d'un départ)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Il a donné son congé à son propriétaire pour cause de mutation professionnelle.

be on leave, be on annual leave

locution verbale (être en repos)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Il est en congé pendant une semaine, puis-je prendre un message ?

be on sick leave

locution verbale (avoir un repos médical)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

be on parental leave

locution verbale (s'absenter pour une naissance)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Je remplace le comptable qui est en congé parental.

day off

nom masculin (jour payé non travaillé)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Nous avons droit à 20 jours de congé par an.

take some days off

locution verbale (utiliser ses jours de congé annuel)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Il a décidé de poser quelques jours de congé en fin de mois.

take your leave

locution verbale (s'en aller)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Le candidat se leva et prit congé.

take your leave of , take leave of

locution verbale (mettre fin à une entrevue)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Le candidat se leva et prit congé du journaliste.

take a day off

locution verbale (s'absenter un jour de son travail)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

week off

nom féminin (7 jours de vacances)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
J'ai posé une semaine de congés en août.

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of congé in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

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