Forrest Gump’s momma may be famous for always having said that “Life is like a box of chocolates …” However, my momma was famous for always having said “‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’ go a long way.” This is true whether it’s saying “Thank you” in Chinese or “Please” in Arabic. In other words, no matter the language, being polite will usually get you what you want. After all, my momma also said, “You can get a lot more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.” With that in mind, please join us today as we take a look at how to make requests in Arabic using the word “please”.


Arabic has Many Ways to Say Please


Perhaps you have already learn the most common way to say “please” in Arabic –  مِنْ فَضْلِكَ / min fadlik. Actually, you can use min fadlek to mean both “excuse me” and “please” and its literal translation means “of/from your favor”. For example, you can say, “من فضلك أعطني رقم هاتفك.” / “min fadlik ‘aetini raqm hatifik.  This means both “Please give me your telephone number.” or “Could/would you please give me your telephone number?”

 Another one of the Arabic phrases that can mean “please” is لَوْ سَمَحْتَ / low samat.  It means“if you will allow”. An example of this would be لَوْ سَمَحْتَ ، مرر الزبدة / low samat, marar alzubdatu. This means “Please, pass the butter.” / “Could/would you please pass the butter?”


Another Polite Way of Requesting Something in Arabic

A very polite way of asking for a favor is by using هل من الممكن أن …؟ which means “Is it possible…”  For example, you could ask: هل من الممكن أن تصطحبني في السابعة صباحًا؟ / hal min almumkin ‘an tastahibani fi alsaabieat sbahan? This translates to “Is it possible for you pick me up at seven in the morning?”  It can also mean “Could /Would you pick me up at seven in the morning?”

Asking for Help in Times of Urgency

رَجَاْءً  /  raja’an,  literally meaning “I beg…”, is another way to of saying “I need help” in Arabic when there is a sense of urgency.  For example ,!رَجَاْءً سَاْعِدْنِيْ / raja’an saeadani means “Please help me!”.

Here are some other phrases you might find useful when making a polite request:

EnglishTransliterationArabic
Could you please open the door?law samaht aftah albabاِفْتَحِ البَابَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ
Close the door, please.aghlaq albab min fadlikأَغْلِقِ البَابَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ
Please don’t call me.min fadlik la tatasil biمِنْ فَضْلِكَ لاَ تَتَّصِلْ بِي
Could you please turn on the A/C?yurjaa tashghil mukayif alhawa’شَغِّلْ مُكَيِّفَ الهَوَاءِ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ
Please hurry!‘arjuk ‘asraeأَسْرِعْ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ
Don’t smoke here, pleasemin fadlik la tadakhin hunaمِنْ فَضْلِكَ لاَ تُدَخِّنْ هُنَا



If you’d like to learn more phrases for being polite in Arabic, please feel free to check out the Kaleela Arabic Learning App. You can download it today and start speaking Arabic by tomorrow in a time and place that’s convenient for you. Visit our website at kaleela.com to find out how!

Kaleela – Learn Arabic the Right Way!

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