quiero un café, por favor
I'd like a coffee, please
Common trap for English speakers quiero ('I want') plus por favor is normal and polite in Spanish; don't over-soften it the way English requires.
In the story
Lucía
Can-do time: by the end, you’ll be able to walk into the café and say, out loud, “quiero un café, por favor.” You’ll also be able to point — “esto, por favor.” And you’ll hear Rosa switch from formal to friendly mid-sentence. Ready?
Rosa, ¿dónde está el café? Está en la plaza.
Lucía
You asked, “¿dónde está el café?” Hear the stress: dÓN-deh, es-TÁ, ca-FÉ. Then Rosa: “es-TÁ en la PLÁ-za.” Meaning: where is the café? — it’s on the plaza. Register: this is neutral, friendly. Two tips: 1) smile the question with that…
Learn it in the story
This phrase appears in the lesson:
Level pre-A1 · Lesson 11
A drink at the café
Related phrases
- ¿dónde está el café? — está en la plaza — where is the café? — it's on the plaza
- un agua / un jugo, por favor — a water / a juice, please
- esto, por favor — this one, please (pointing)
- ¿algo más? — no, gracias — anything else? — no, thank you
- ¿qué desea, señor? — ¿y tú, Teo, qué quieres? — (usted) what would you like, sir? — (tú) and you, Teo, what do you want? (the usted→tú switch)