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How to Say ‘Please’ in French

S'il vous plaît

seel eel voo pleh

[seel eel voo pleh]

Phrase Breakdown

[seel]

Part of the fixed polite expression s'il vous plaît, literally if it pleases you.

Example

S'il vous plaît, notez que S' commence cette expression polie.

Please note that S' begins this polite expression.

[eel]

Impersonal subject pronoun meaning 'it'; here it joins with 'si' (if) to form 's'il', literally 'if it (pleases you)'.

Example

Une table en terrasse, s'il vous plaît.

A table on the terrace, please.

vous

[voo]

to you

Indirect object pronoun: the person receiving something.

Example

Je vous donne la monnaie.

I give you the change.

plaît

[pleh]

pleases

Part of the expression meaning please.

Example

Plaît complète l'expression s'il vous plaît.

Plaît completes the expression please.

Guides for French learners

Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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