# Italian speakers: How do they REALLY say "please"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 4, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-speakers-how-do-they-really-say-please/501889 "2009-07-04T12:33:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-speakers-how-do-they-really-say-please/501889/1 "2009-07-04T12:33:28Z")
I have studied Italian from books and been to Italy but have never taken a class. There remains one odd mystery. My lessons variously use: per favore per piacere prego Are these interchangeable? Or do they vary in the level of formality? What do Italians really use in everyday conversation? ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-speakers-how-do-they-really-say-please/501889/2 "2009-07-04T13:12:06Z")
I’ve been looking into learning Italian, so I’m also curious! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-speakers-how-do-they-really-say-please/501889/3 "2009-07-04T13:47:29Z")
While we’re waiting for a native speaker, my impression is that yes, they all mean things covered by English “please.” _Per piacere_ (lit. by [your] pleasure) is slightly more formal than _per favore_ (lit. by [your] favor / kindness), which is more common. _Prego_ (lit. I pray) is a bit more like German _bitte_ in that it’s more of a tag word used to smooth social communication. In other words, if I’m asking someone to do something, I’d use one of the two-word phrases. If I’m just responding politely or saying “please” in the sense of “excuse me,” I’d say _prego_. Confusingly, it also means “you’re welcome.” ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-speakers-how-do-they-really-say-please/501889/4 "2009-07-04T17:58:00Z")
_Prego_ is like _bitte_ in German, then? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-speakers-how-do-they-really-say-please/501889/5 "2009-07-04T18:23:45Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > _Prego_ is like _bitte_ in German, then? I’m unfamiliar with German, but one thing that struck me when I went to Italy is how versatile the word _prego_ seems to be. Although I learned it to mean “you’re welcome”, people seem to use it in far more contexts than that. The rule I learned was “when in doubt, say prego”. You probably won’t be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-speakers-how-do-they-really-say-please/501889/6 "2009-07-04T20:35:03Z")
_Prego_ is also used by waiters to mean “Can I take your order?” - again, same as German _Bitte_. One thing I have noticed, though, is that many European languages don’t use “please” to the same extent as English. I was told that constantly adding “por favor” or “s’il vous plaît” or “per favore” to the end of requests was something that only foreigners do - in most cases, if you’re ordering something in a restaurant or whatever, you wouldn’t say “please”. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-speakers-how-do-they-really-say-please/501889/7 "2009-07-04T21:25:53Z")
In my experience, \*prego \* can mean: “You’re welcome” after you say _grazie_ “Enjoy your meal” when you’re served or otherwise given something “After you” if someone holds the door “Please” as an affirmative response to a request: “May I sit here?” “That’s quite all right” if you bump someone and say “_Mi scusi_” or “_Mi dispiace_” [ETA] but I never heard anyone use it in conversation to make a request polite. Oddly as a tourist I can’t remember anybody asking _me_ for anything so I dont’ recall which of the three (OP) I may have heard in that context. ---
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-speakers-how-do-they-really-say-please/501889/8 "2009-07-04T23:42:16Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > In my experience, \*prego \* can mean: > > “You’re welcome” after you say _grazie_ > “Enjoy your meal” when you’re served or otherwise given something > “After you” if someone holds the door > “Please” as an affirmative response to a request: “May I sit here?” > “That’s quite all right” if you bump someone and say “_Mi scusi_” or “_Mi dispiace_” [ETA] > > but I never heard anyone use it in conversation to make a request polite. Oddly as a tourist I can’t remember anybody asking _me_ for anything so I dont’ recall which of the three (OP) I may have heard in that context. Yep, what he said is true. And to say _please_ you can say either _per favore_ (“as a favour”) or _per piacere_ (“as a pleasure”). Native Italian speaker here.