2 min read · French

How to say "please" in French

Say "please" in French: S'il te plaît / S'il vous plaît. Pronunciation, when to use it, and the register that natives actually pick.

Short answer: "please" in French is S'il te plaît, or S'il vous plaît depending on the situation.

S'il te plaît, the core translation

The default way to say "please" in French is S'il te plaît. Pronounced roughly seel voo PLEH.

When French speakers actually use it

"S'il te plaît" with people you say tu to; "S'il vous plaît" is the polite default.

Alternative: S'il vous plaît

S'il vous plaît is the other option French speakers reach for in this situation. It's not a synonym so much as a register shift, use the one that matches who you're talking to.

Practice this in a real French conversation

Reading a phrase and saying it out loud are two different skills. Skala's AI conversations let you drop "S'il te plaît" into a real French exchange in your first 3-minute lesson, so it sticks the first time.

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FAQ

What's the most polite way to say "please" in French?

Both S'il te plaît and S'il vous plaît are polite. Pick based on who you're talking to: register, not translation, is what natives are tuning into.

How do I pronounce S'il te plaît?

Roughly seel voo PLEH. Recording yourself once and comparing to a native audio inside Skala closes the gap faster than reading pronunciation guides.

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