How to Say ‘Please’ in French
S'il vous plaît
seel eel voo pleh
[seel eel voo pleh]
💬 Usage Tip: [S'il] is a shortened form of [si il], so it only appears joined like this before [il]. You can reuse the full pattern in [s'il vous plaît], which is the standard polite [please].
Phrase Breakdown
S'
[seel]
if
Part of the fixed polite expression s'il vous plaît.
S'il vous plaît est une formule très polie.
S'il vous plaît is a very polite expression.
il
[eel]
he / it
In this set phrase, il is part of the expression meaning please.
Dans S'il vous plaît, il fait partie de l'expression.
In S'il vous plaît, il is part of the expression.
vous
[voo]
you
An object pronoun used here in a polite fixed expression.
J'utilise vous dans S'il vous plaît avec un agent.
I use you in S'il vous plaît with an agent.
plaît
[pleh]
please
In the expression s'il vous plaît, it helps form a polite request.
Le mot plaît dans S'il vous plaît rend la demande polie.
The word plaît in S'il vous plaît makes the request polite.
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