なぜビジネス英語の語彙が重要か
Global meetings, emails to overseas partners, and English job interviews — business English comes up everywhere. The good news: a core set of around 50 words and phrases covers the vast majority of workplace situations. Learn these first and you'll feel confident much faster.
Category 1: Meetings & Discussions（会議・議論）
| English Word | 日本語 | Example Sentence |
|---|
| agenda | 議題・アジェンダ | Let's stick to the agenda. |
| minutes | 議事録 | Who will take the minutes today? |
| action item | アクションアイテム・タスク | Your action item is to send the report by Friday. |
| follow up | フォローアップする | I'll follow up with you next week. |
| wrap up | まとめる・終わりにする | Let's wrap up the meeting. |
| clarify | 明確にする | Could you clarify what you mean? |
| defer | 先送りにする | We'll defer that topic to next time. |
Category 2: Email & Communication（メール・連絡）
| English Word | 日本語 | Example Sentence |
|---|
| regarding | 〜に関して | Regarding your request, please see below. |
| as per | 〜に従って | As per our agreement, delivery is on Monday. |
| attached | 添付された | Please find the document attached. |
| loop in | 〜をCCに入れる・共有する | Please loop in the manager on this email. |
| heads up | 事前の知らせ | Just a heads up — the meeting is moved to 3pm. |
| at your earliest convenience | ご都合のよい早い時期に | Please reply at your earliest convenience. |
Category 3: Projects & Deadlines（プロジェクト・締め切り）
| English Word | 日本語 | Example Sentence |
|---|
| milestone | マイルストーン・節目 | We hit our first milestone ahead of schedule. |
| deliverable | 成果物 | What are the deliverables for this project? |
| bandwidth | 余裕・キャパシティ（比喩） | I don't have the bandwidth for a new task right now. |
| bottleneck | ボトルネック・障害 | The approval process is the main bottleneck. |
| scope creep | スコープの拡大（問題） | We need to avoid scope creep on this project. |
| on track | 順調に進んでいる | The project is on track for the deadline. |
Memory Tips — 単語を覚えるコツ
- Chunk learning: Learn words in groups (all email words together, all meeting words together) — context helps memory.
- Use it in writing: Write one practice email each day using 3 new words. Writing activates a different part of memory than just reading.
- カタカナ注意: Words like agenda and milestone already exist in Japanese as katakana, but check the English pronunciation — it's often different!
- Flashcard apps: Add these words to Anki or Quizlet with an example sentence, not just a translation.
まとめ
You don't need thousands of words to communicate well at work. Focus on these high-frequency business terms first, practice using them in real sentences, and you'll notice a quick jump in your confidence during English meetings and emails.
