How to Say ‘Please’ in French
S'il vous plaît
seel eel voo pleh
[seel eel voo pleh]
💬 Usage Tip: [S'il vous plaît] is the standard polite [please] when speaking to someone as [vous]. You will hear it constantly in shops, cafés, and restaurants.
Phrase Breakdown
S'
[seel]
if
Part of the fixed polite expression s'il vous plaît, literally beginning with if.
Dans S'il vous plaît, S' fait partie de la formule de politesse.
In Please, S' is part of the polite expression.
il
[eel]
he / it
In the expression s'il vous plaît, il is part of a fixed phrase meaning please.
Dans S'il vous plaît, il ne se traduit pas mot à mot en contexte.
In Please, il is not translated word for word in context.
vous
[voo]
you
Polite or plural form of you; here it is part of the expression s'il vous plaît.
Dans S'il vous plaît, vous montre une forme polie.
In Please, vous shows a polite form.
plaît
[pleh]
pleases
From the verb plaire, it appears in the polite fixed expression s'il vous plaît meaning please.
S'il vous plaît est utile quand je demande quelque chose poliment.
Please is useful when I ask for something politely.
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