escuche, por favor
In Spanish, "listen, please" is escuche, por favor.
This phrase is a polite request for someone to pay attention to what the speaker is saying. While Escucha, por favor is a direct translation of "listen, please", you might choose different expressions depending on your goal. Use presta atención, por favor if you want someone to focus their attention on what you are about to say or mira, por favor if you want someone to pay attention to what you are doing or saying.
Which one should you use?
If you are speaking to a friend or someone you know well, you should use the informal form escúchame, por favor (listen to me, please) instead. For an informal way to say "listen, please", you can also use Oye, por favor.
How does it change in a sentence?
The choice of conjugation depends on the person you are addressing: escuche, por favor uses the formal usted conjugation, while escúchame, por favor uses the informal tú conjugation. When speaking to a group, use the plural form escuchen, por favor.
Did you know?
- Using the formal escuche with a close friend or family member is not always a mistake. It can be used intentionally to signal sarcasm or that the speaker has become suddenly very serious.
- In Spanish, the request for attention presta atención literally means 'lend attention'. This mirrors the English idiom 'lend an ear' but uses it as a standard way to ask someone to focus.
- The word favor shares a common root with the English word 'favour', both tracing back to the Latin 'favorem', which relates to showing kindness or support.
Examples in context
- Escucha, por favor, la presentación será muy importante.Listen, please, the presentation will be very important.
- Presta atención, por favor, esto es crucial para entender el problema.Pay attention, please, this is crucial to understand the problem.
- Oye, por favor, necesito contarte algo importante.Listen, please, I need to tell you something important.
- Escuche, por favor, lo que tengo que decirle.Listen, please, to what I have to tell you.
- Escuche, por favor, lo que dice el médico.Listen, please, to what the doctor is saying.
- Escuche, por favor, las instrucciones de seguridad.Listen, please, to the safety instructions.
Example conversation
A formal meeting in an office.
- MaríaEscuche, por favor, mi explicación sobre el proyecto.Listen, please, to my explanation about the project.
- AlejandroEstá bien, María, le estoy prestando atención.All right, María, I am paying attention to you.
- MaríaGracias, Alejandro, es un tema muy importante.Thank you, Alejandro, it is a very important topic.
- AlejandroEntiendo, continúe con su presentación.I understand, continue with your presentation.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries favor, por, CC BY-SA 4.0.
