French Phrase
On attend le retour du client.
Meaning
Literally, ‘We are waiting for the client’s return.’ In a business setting it usually means waiting for the client’s reply, feedback, or the moment the client comes back to the project.
When to use
Use this sentence when you want to tell a colleague that the team is waiting for a client’s response or for the client to come back, especially in informal or semi‑formal workplace conversations.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Onattendleretourduclient
On (impersonal pronoun)
‘On’ is an informal way to say ‘we’ or ‘people in general’; it conjugates like third‑person singular.
Attendre (verb)
‘Attendre’ means ‘to wait for’. In the present tense, third‑person singular is ‘attend’.
Le (definite article)
‘Le’ introduces a masculine singular noun – here ‘retour’.
Du = de + le
‘Du’ is the contraction of ‘de le’, used before a masculine singular noun (‘client’).
Noun phrase ‘le retour du client’
‘Retour’ can mean ‘return’ (as in coming back) or ‘feedback’; the whole phrase is the object of ‘attendre’.
🗨In Conversation
On attend le retour du client.
We’re waiting for the client’s response.
D’accord, on le relancera demain si besoin.
Alright, we’ll follow up with them tomorrow if needed.
✕Common Mistakes
On attends le retour du client.
‘Attends’ is first‑person singular (je attends). The subject ‘on’ requires the third‑person form ‘attend’.
On attend le retour de le client.
In French ‘de le’ contracts to ‘du’; using the two words separately is incorrect.
On attend le retour du client.
If you mean ‘the client’s reply’, ‘réponse’ is more precise; ‘retour’ can be ambiguous.
↔Alternatives
Nous attendons le retour du client.
We are waiting for the client’s return.
On attend la réponse du client.
We’re waiting for the client’s answer.
Nous espérons le retour du client.
We hope the client will get back to us.
Cultural Tip
In French business emails ‘on’ is common in spoken or informal written French, but ‘nous’ sounds more formal and is preferred in official correspondence. Also, ‘retour’ can refer to a physical return or to feedback; make sure the context makes the meaning clear.