Meaning of French s’il te plaît in English

The French phrase s’il te plaît means “please” when speaking informally. It’s used when addressing one person, such as a friend, family member, or someone your age. If you’re speaking to multiple people or want to be more polite, you’d say s’il vous plaît instead.

Breaking it down, s’il is a contraction of si (“if”) and il (“it” or “he”), while te plaît means “pleases you.” So, the phrase roughly translates to “if it pleases you.” This structure is similar to English expressions like “if you please,” though it’s much more common in French than in modern English.

One interesting thing about s’il te plaît is that, while it’s essential in polite conversation, French people sometimes omit it in very casual speech, especially when making quick requests. Also, be careful with pronunciation — though it looks like three words, it flows as a single unit: seel-tuh-play.