French guides · French words explained
S’il vous plaît: “if it pleases you.”
S’il vous plaît means “please”, and unpacked it is a tiny, rather courtly sentence: s’il (if it) + vous (you) + plaît (pleases). If it pleases you. Pronounced seel voo PLEH, it is one of the four phrases that will carry you through any French shop — and it doubles as the polite way to catch a waiter’s attention.
Vous or te?
French has two words for “you”, and “please” changes with them. Vous is formal or plural; tu is singular and familiar. Pick the one that matches how you already address the person.
| French | Say it | Use with |
|---|---|---|
| s’il vous plaît | seel voo PLEH | strangers, staff, anyone older, groups |
| s’il te plaît | seel tuh PLEH | friends, family, children, colleagues you know |
| SVP | written only | notes, signs, emails, texts |
| STP | written only | the informal abbreviation |
Being slightly too formal in French costs you nothing. Being too familiar with a stranger, a shopkeeper or someone older is a genuine misstep. Start with vous and let the other person invite you to switch.
The sound, and the silent letters
Three words, four silent letters. The t on plaît is silent, the s of vous is silent here, and the circumflex on the î changes nothing about the sound — it is a fossil marking an s that French dropped centuries ago (compare English “plaisir” → please).
| Chunk | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|
| s’il | seel | one syllable, like English “seal” |
| vous | voo | the final s is silent |
| plaît | pleh | silent t; rhymes with “bet” |
Say it as a single run — seelvooPLEH — rather than three careful words. French phrases carry their stress at the end, and chopping them up is what makes a beginner hardest to understand.
Where it goes in a sentence
Unlike English, which likes “please” tucked in the middle, French almost always parks it at the end.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Un café, s’il vous plaît. | A coffee, please. |
| L’addition, s’il vous plaît. | The bill, please. |
| Pouvez-vous répéter, s’il vous plaît ? | Could you repeat that, please? |
| Passe-moi le sel, s’il te plaît. | Pass me the salt, please. |
| S’il vous plaît ! | Excuse me! (to get attention) |
Not by clicking or waving. Catch their eye and say s’il vous plaît clearly, or excusez-moi. Used on its own like this it means “excuse me” rather than “please” — and it is exactly what French diners do.
The four-phrase politeness kit
These four, in this order, are the backbone of nearly every short exchange in France. Learn them as one block and an enormous amount of daily life opens up.
| French | Say it | When |
|---|---|---|
| bonjour | bohn-ZHOOR | walking in |
| s’il vous plaît | seel voo PLEH | making the request |
| merci | mehr-SEE | being handed it |
| au revoir | oh ruh-VWAHR | walking out |
Hear it, then say it
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Quick answers
S’il vous plaît, answered.
Being polite, in the right register.