People in tech deal with English every day, even at companies that work in another language: documentation, tools, meetings with international teams and job listings. These are the terms that come up most, organized by area.
Product
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| roadmap | the plan for how a product will evolve |
| feature | a piece of functionality |
| release | launching a version |
| user story | a description of a user need |
| MVP (minimum viable product) | the smallest version that tests an idea |
| feedback | opinions and reactions |
| onboarding | a user’s first experience, or integrating a new employee |
| churn | the rate at which customers cancel |
Development
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| bug | a defect in software |
| fix | a correction |
| deploy | to publish code to an environment |
| pull request | a request to merge a change into the main code |
| code review | another person reviewing your code |
| branch | a separate line of code changes |
| merge | to combine changes |
| refactor | to restructure code without changing behavior |
| legacy code | old, inherited code |
| edge case | an extreme or rare situation |
Data
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| dashboard | a panel of indicators |
| metrics | measurements |
| KPI | key performance indicator |
| insight | a useful finding from data |
| query | a request to a database |
| data pipeline | a flow that processes data |
Infrastructure
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| server | a machine that serves an application |
| downtime | time offline |
| uptime | time online |
| outage | an interruption |
| scalability | the ability to grow |
| backup | a safety copy |
| rollback | going back to the previous version |
Everyday work
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| deadline | the due date |
| backlog | the list of pending tasks |
| sprint | a short work cycle |
| stakeholder | a person with an interest in the project |
| blocker | something that stops progress |
| scope | what a project includes |
| trade-off | gaining one thing by giving up another |
| follow-up | checking back on something |
How to really learn them
Memorizing lists helps little. What works is reading and hearing the terms in use: documentation, technical articles, talks and engineering videos. With Telidioma, you can select any term on a documentation site and see the translation in the context of the sentence, and in technical YouTube videos you can click the words in the subtitles. For the English developers need specifically, see English for developers.
Frequently asked questions
Why do so many tech terms stay in English in other languages?
Because most tools, documentation and companies in the field use English. Terms like “deploy”, “bug” and “feature” have become jargon even in teams that speak another language.
What is the difference between “release” and “deploy”?
To deploy is to put code into an environment (for example, the production server). A release is making a version available to users. They sometimes happen together, but they are not the same thing.
How do I learn the technical English of my field?
By reading documentation, watching technical talks and videos in English and looking up terms in context. Technical vocabulary repeats a lot, so it sticks quickly.