Which one should you use?
While ¿quiere su recibo? is the standard way to ask the question, you might also hear ¿Desea su recibo? or ¿Le gustaría su recibo? which both mean "Do you want your receipt?" or "Would you like your receipt?" respectively. For a slightly more formal tone than the informal ¿Quieres tu recibo?, you can use ¿Quisieras tu recibo?
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The default form ¿quiere su recibo? is the standard polite way to address customers. Use the informal form ¿quieres tu recibo? when speaking to someone you know well or in very casual settings. The forms ¿Desea su recibo? and ¿Le gustaría su recibo? are also formal options.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase ¿quiere su recibo? can mean "does he/she want his/her receipt?" in addition to "do you want your receipt?" because the third-person singular form is used for both the formal "you" and for "he/she".
When do people say it?
When a cashier asks this, a customer might respond with No, gracias (No, thank you) or No, no lo necesito (No, I don't need it).
Did you know?
- In Mexico, a cashier might ask for your RFC before printing the recibo. This is a unique tax identification number required to generate a formal electronic invoice called a factura.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, you might be offered a ticket instead of a recibo. While recibo is correct, the word ticket is frequently used in common speech to refer to the printed slip from a register.
- The word recibo shares a common ancestor with the English word 'receive'. This connection stems from the Latin root 'recipere', meaning to take or get back.
Examples in context
- ¿quiere su recibo o prefiere que lo tire?Do you want your receipt or do you prefer that I throw it away?
- Señora, ¿quiere su recibo?Ma'am, do you want your receipt?
- Después de pagar, ¿quiere su recibo?After paying, do you want your receipt?
Example conversation
Daniel is a cashier helping Sofía at a small shop.
- DanielSon veinte euros, por favor.That is twenty euros, please.
- SofíaAquí tiene.Here you go.
- Daniel¿Quiere su recibo?Do you want your receipt?
- SofíaNo, gracias, no lo necesito.No, thanks, I don't need it.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries recibo, su, CC BY-SA 4.0.
