Please in French is s'il vous plaît (seel voo PLEH), the polite form for strangers, staff and anyone you call vous. With a friend, a child or family, say s'il te plaît (seel tuh PLEH). In writing they are often shortened to SVP and STP. For a softer request, start with je voudrais (I would like).
- Polite (vous)
- s'il vous plaît
- Informal (tu)
- s'il te plaît
- Written
- SVP / STP
- I would like…
- je voudrais…
- Level
- A1
S'il vous plaît or s'il te plaît?
It depends on whether you call the person vous or tu. Literally the phrase means "if it pleases you", so the pronoun has to match. Saying s'il vous plaît to a friend sounds oddly stiff; s'il te plaît to a waiter sounds over-familiar.
| French | Say it | Use with | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| S'il vous plaît | seel voo PLEH | Strangers, staff, groups, anyone you call vous | Un café, s'il vous plaît. |
| S'il te plaît | seel tuh PLEH | Friends, family, children | Passe-moi le sel, s'il te plaît. |
| SVP / STP | (written only) | Notes, signs, quick messages | Rappelle-moi STP. |
| Je voudrais… | zhuh voo-DREH | Ordering, asking for things | Je voudrais un croissant. |
| Est-ce que vous pourriez… ? | ess-kuh voo poo-RYAY | A polite favour | Est-ce que vous pourriez m'aider ? |
In this B1 mystery on a night train, the conductor panics when a passenger says her brooch has been stolen, and uses s'il vous plaît to beg her to keep it quiet:
— Madame, s'il vous plaît, ne parlons pas de police ! murmura-t-il.How do you ask for something politely in French?
Please on its own is not the whole story. French politeness lives in the verb: je voudrais (I would like) is softer than je veux (I want), and pourriez-vous (could you) is softer than pouvez-vous (can you). Combine a soft verb with s'il vous plaît and you will sound polite anywhere.
Je voudrais deux croissants, s'il vous plaît.
I'd like two croissants, please.
L'addition, s'il vous plaît.
The bill, please.
Pourriez-vous parler plus lentement, s'il vous plaît ?
Could you speak more slowly, please?
Tu peux fermer la fenêtre, s'il te plaît ?
Can you close the window, please?
Informal.
Between people who call each other tu, a request often comes without any please at all, just a question and a reason.
How do you say yes please in French?
Oui, s'il vous plaît is correct, but French speakers more often accept with oui, je veux bien (yes, I'd like that) or volontiers (gladly). Be careful with a bare merci when someone offers you something: on its own it often means no thank you.
Vous voulez du thé ? — Oui, je veux bien.
Would you like some tea? — Yes please.
Un peu de dessert ? — Volontiers !
A bit of dessert? — Yes please, gladly!
Oui, s'il te plaît.
Yes please.
To a friend.
Does s'il vous plaît mean anything else?
Yes. In a French café, s'il vous plaît ! is the polite way to call a waiter, the equivalent of "excuse me!" (more on the page on how to say excuse me in French). On signs, the formal merci de often does the job of please: merci de fermer la porte.
In Belgium, s'il vous plaît is also used when handing something over, meaning "here you are". In France you would say voilà or tenez instead.
Read A1 French stories and tap any word, including every s'il vous plaît, to see what it means.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you pronounce s'il vous plaît?
Say "seel voo PLEH". The t at the end is silent, and in fast speech the three words run together into something close to "seel-voo-pleh". The ai is an open "eh", like the e in "bed".
What does SVP mean?
SVP is the written short form of s'il vous plaît, used on signs, forms and in quick messages. STP is s'il te plaît. Neither is said aloud.
Does plaît have an accent?
Traditionally, yes: plaît, with a circumflex on the i. The 1990 spelling reform made plait acceptable too, but s'il vous plaît is still by far the most common spelling.
Is it rude to ask for something without s'il vous plaît?
With strangers and staff, it can be. A request in a shop or café is expected to come with bonjour at the start and s'il vous plaît at the end. Among friends it is more relaxed.