Please in Spanish is por favor (por fah-BOR; Spanish v sounds close to a soft b). It can open or close a request: un café, por favor. Spaniards say it less often than English speakers and let the question carry the politeness, so ¿me pones un café? (could I have a coffee?) is perfectly polite in a bar in Spain.
- Please
- por favor
- Casual
- porfa
- Polite request
- ¿Me pones…? (Spain)
- Very polite
- ¿Podría…?
- Level
- A1
Where does por favor go in a Spanish sentence?
Almost anywhere. At the start it sounds a little more urgent or pleading; at the end it sounds like a routine courtesy. Either way, a comma separates it from the rest of the sentence.
| Spanish | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Un café, por favor. | A coffee, please. | Ordering |
| La cuenta, por favor. | The bill, please. | At the end of a meal |
| ¿Me ayudas, por favor? | Can you help me, please? | Informal (tú) |
| Por favor, siéntese. | Please sit down. | Formal (usted) |
| Siéntate, por favor. | Sit down, please. | Informal (tú) |
| Sí, por favor. | Yes, please. | Accepting an offer |
At the start of a sentence it adds urgency. In one A1 mystery, the building's doorkeeper phones in a panic:
Por favor, habla con tu hermanoDoes por favor change with tú and usted?
Por favor itself never changes, but the verb next to it does. A request to someone you call tú uses the tú form; a request to someone you call usted uses the usted form. With negative requests (please don't…), both forms come from the subjunctive: no digas for tú, no diga for usted.
Two A1 chapters show the pair almost word for word. An anonymous note slipped under a door speaks to its reader as tú:
Por favor, no digas nada.A nervous young Metro employee asks the same of Clara, whom she addresses as señora Merino, so she uses usted:
Por favor, no diga nada.How do you ask politely in Spain without por favor?
Visitors to Spain sometimes think bar orders sound abrupt. They are not: in Spain, tone, a smile and a gracias at the end do the work that please does in English. The question form is also polite in itself.
¿Me pones una caña?
Could I have a small beer?
Spain, in a bar. Literally "will you put me a beer?"
¿Me das la sal?
Can you pass me the salt?
Informal.
Quería un kilo de tomates.
I'd like a kilo of tomatoes.
The past tense quería softens the request; very common in shops.
¿Podría cerrar la ventana?
Could you close the window?
Formal, usted.
¿Sería tan amable de esperar un momento?
Would you be so kind as to wait a moment?
Very formal.
Is please different in Latin America?
Por favor is the same everywhere, and so is the casual porfa. What changes is the request around it. Many Latin American speakers soften requests more than Spaniards do, and a bare command can sound blunt there.
- Colombia: ¿Me regala un café? (literally "will you give me a coffee?") is a normal way to order and pay for something.
- Mexico: ¿Me da…? or ¿Me puede dar…, por favor? in shops.
- Across Latin America: ¿Me podría…? and si es tan amable (if you'd be so kind) keep things formal.
Read A1 Spanish stories where people ask, beg and bargain, and tap any word to see what it means.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you pronounce por favor?
Say "por fah-BOR". Spanish v is pronounced like a soft b, the r at the end is a light tap, and the stress falls on the last syllable.
What does porfa mean?
Porfa is a casual short form of por favor, like "pls". It is used in speech and messages in Spain and Latin America, mostly among friends. Porfi is an even cuter version.
Is it rude not to say por favor in Spain?
Not usually. Spaniards use por favor less than English speakers, especially in bars and shops. A friendly tone and gracias at the end are what count.
How do you say yes, please in Spanish?
Sí, por favor. Many speakers simply say sí, gracias to accept an offer, which sounds just as polite.
What does hazme un favor mean?
Do me a favour. It is the tú form; to someone you call usted, say hágame un favor. Favor is the same word as in por favor.