agua, por favor
/ˈaɡwa poɾ faˈboɾ/word by word
The English phrase "water please" is translated into Spanish as agua, por favor.
Agua, por favor is a standard and polite way to ask for water in Spanish. If you are ordering at a restaurant, you may need to specify if you want sparkling water (agua con gas) or still water (agua sin gas).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, you might say Una botella de agua, por favor (A bottle of water, please) or use the phrase Me regalas un agua, por favor? (Could you gift me some water, please?). In Spain, a common way to ask is ¿Podría traerme un poco de agua, por favor? (Could you bring me some water, please?).
How does it change in a sentence?
While agua is a feminine noun, it uses the masculine article el in the singular form (el agua) to avoid the clash of two "a" sounds.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈaɡwa poɾ faˈboɾ/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the phrase 'el agua' uses a masculine article purely for sound, but if you use an adjective like 'cold', it must still be feminine, such as el agua fría.
- The English word 'ea' is a distant relative of the Spanish agua, both tracing back to the same Proto-Indo-European root for water.
- While the singular form uses el agua, the plural form reverts to the feminine article las aguas.
Examples in context
- Dame un vaso de agua, por favor.Give me a glass of water, please.This sentence is useful for practicing how to ask for a glass of water using agua, por favor.Tatoeba #507353 by Shishir, translation #61457 by CK
- Agua, por favor.Water, please.This sentence shows a direct way to say agua, por favor.Tatoeba #2097500 by Shishir, translation #2132096 by AlanF_US
- Sólo agua, por favor.Just water, please.This sentence shows how to specify that you only want water using agua, por favor.Tatoeba #560939 by darinmex, translation #64355 by CK
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro are at a restaurant.
- SofíaHola, agua, por favor.Hello, water please.
- Alejandro¿La quiere con gas o sin gas?Do you want it sparkling or still?
- SofíaSin gas, gracias.Still, thank you.
- AlejandroMuy bien, ahora se la traigo.Very well, I'll bring it to you now.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (agua, por, favor) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries agua, favor, por, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
