Monday, October 24, 2011

Ayudita porfis

One of the first things you learn in Spanish is how to say "please".  And that's a good thing, because you can never be too polite.

And just in case you don't know, "por favor" is Spanish for "please".

However, once you go beyond your text books and actually start communicating with real people, you quicly learn there's more than one way to say please. 

Un cafecito, porfa
A coffee, please

 Vengan a mi fiesta por favorcito
Come to my party pretty please

Please tell me the holiday isn't over

Préstame tu cel para hacer unas llamaditas plis
Loan me your cell please so I can make some quick calls please

Ayudita porfis 
A little help please

Remember, all of these versions of por favor are interchangable.  I will point out that porfis and por favorcito is along the lines of "pretty please".  And "plis" is a bit of Spanglish slipping into the language.  It sounds exactly like "please" in English.

Also remember that for formal occasions you'll want to stick with "por favor".   It's also possible that one version is a little more regional than the other, but everyone will still understand you.

Don't be afraid to try to try these out with your amigos, they make your Spanish sound just a bit more natural.  These expressions are kind of childish and playful, so you don't want to overdo it with them. 

¡Hasta luego!


  1. Here’s another one that I found can take a little getting used to: “no seas malita/o”. Literally it’s “don’t be mean” but it doesn’t really signify that you’re being suspected of wanting to act mean. It seems to mean something more like “can you do me this little favour” e.g. “move just a bit and let me through,” or “hand me that thing over there,” for example.