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Efficace or efficient: a French cheat sheet for work

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Use efficace for getting results and efficient for results relative to resources. Check everyday usage, adjective endings and a three-method comparison.

In short

Efficace means effective: it gets the intended result. French efficient focuses on the result in relation to the resources used and belongs mainly to specialist or management language. In everyday conversation, une collègue efficace is a natural way to describe an efficient colleague.

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Colleagues completing a neatly organised stack of office work.
An efficace method achieves the intended result. Illustration: Atelier

Results, resources and endings

1 · The everyday choice: efficace

Use it for a person or method that achieves the goal. It can translate English “effective” or “efficient”, depending on the sentence.

Cette méthode est efficace : nous terminons le travail à temps.This method is effective: we finish the work on time.

Nadia est très efficace. Elle organise la réunion en dix minutes.Nadia is very efficient. She organises the meeting in ten minutes.

2 · The specialist choice: efficient

Use it when discussing how well a process uses time, money or other resources to produce a result. Name the resource to make the comparison clear.

Cette organisation est plus efficiente : elle obtient le même résultat avec moins de moyens.This organisation is more efficient: it gets the same result with fewer resources.

3 · Check the adjective ending

With efficace, gender stays the same; add -s for the plural. With efficient, add -e in the feminine and -s in the plural.

un service efficace / une équipe efficacean effective service / an effective team
des services efficaces / des équipes efficaceseffective services / effective teams
un procédé efficient / une méthode efficientean efficient process / an efficient method
des procédés efficients / des méthodes efficientesefficient processes / efficient methods

4 · The nouns and the adverb

L’efficacité is effectiveness; l’efficience highlights the relationship between results and resources in specialist discussion. The everyday adverb is efficacement.

Nous travaillons efficacement ensemble.We work efficiently together.

What is the difference between efficace and efficient?

A team must process all 100 requests correctly. It tries three methods. Compare the completed work first, then the time used.

The team’s trial results
MethodRequests processed correctlyTime
A100 out of 10060 minutes
B100 out of 10020 minutes
C75 out of 10010 minutes
Le bilan de l’équipe
  1. Responsable

    Les méthodes A et B sont efficaces : elles permettent de traiter toutes les demandes correctement.

    Methods A and B are effective: they allow us to process all the requests correctly.

  2. Collègue

    Mais B prend moins de temps. Dans notre rapport, on peut parler d’une méthode plus efficiente.

    But B takes less time. In our report, we can call it a more efficient method.

  3. Responsable

    C est rapide, mais nous n’avons pas atteint notre objectif.

    C is fast, but we haven’t reached our goal.

La méthode B donne le même résultat que la méthode A, en vingt minutes au lieu de soixante.

Method B gives the same result as method A, in twenty minutes instead of sixty.

This plain sentence spells out the result and the time saving. It works in a conversation as well as in a report.

Question 1No account needed
Which is the natural everyday translation of “She is very efficient”?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Elle est très efficace.. Elle est très efficace is an ordinary way to praise someone who gets things done.

Question 2No account needed
Complete the plural feminine phrase.des méthodes ___

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

efficientes. Méthodes is feminine plural, so efficient takes both -e and -s.

Question 3No account needed
In the trial, which method gets the full result using less time than A?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Method B.. B processes all 100 requests correctly in 20 minutes; A needs 60 minutes.

Question 4No account needed
Why are both A and B described as efficaces?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

They both meet the stated goal.. Both achieve the goal of processing all 100 requests correctly; their times differ.

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