l'addition, s'il vous plaît ?
To say "may I have the check?" in French, use l'addition, s'il vous plaît ?
This phrase is used to request the bill at a restaurant. While you can use full sentences to ask, it is very common and polite in French restaurants to simply say the noun followed by s'il vous plaît.
What does it mean word for word?
The term l'addition literally means "the addition" or "the sum" in a mathematical sense.
Which one should you use?
The default form l'addition, s'il vous plaît ? is a shortened, practical way to ask for the bill. For a more grammatically complete expression, you can use Est-ce que je peux avoir l'addition, s'il vous plaît ? to mean "Can I have the bill, please?" If you want to ask specifically to pay, you can use Pourrais-je régler, s'il vous plaît? which means "Could I pay, please?"
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Canada, it is common to say Puis-je avoir la facture, s'il vous plaît? to mean "May I have the bill, please?"
When do people say it?
In France, servers will rarely bring the bill to your table unless you explicitly ask for it, as it is considered rude to rush a customer.
Did you know?
- The formal vous used in the phrase is a direct descendant of the Latin vōs. This single word serves as the linguistic ancestor for similar pronouns in Italian and Russian.
- The word addition in the phrase is not just a synonym for 'bill', but is a direct mathematical term. It refers to the mathematical sum of all the items you consumed during the meal.
Examples in context
- Excusez-moi, puis-je avoir l'addition, s'il vous plaît?Excuse me, may I have the check, please?
- Pourrais-je régler, s'il vous plaît?Could I pay, please?
- Est-ce que je peux avoir l'addition, s'il vous plaît?Can I have the check, please?
- L'addition, s'il vous plaît ?May I have the check, please?
- Est-ce que je peux avoir l'addition, s'il vous plaît ?Could I have the bill, please?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries vous, CC BY-SA 4.0.
