<p>Most of time, 请 is used for <em><strong>politely request/demand/ask/</strong></em> nowadays. E.g. A teacher can say 请不要说话了. This demand is much milder than 闭嘴！</p>
<p>请把我的手机拿过来 can be a milder way to order or command. The tone plays an important role as well.</p>
<p>in your circumstances, I would probably say:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>麻烦帮我把手机递给我. 麻烦 connotes <em>to trouble you(sorry to bother)</em>，帮我: to help me(not your responsibility).</p>
</li>
<li><p>求你了 is a proper one for that sense of 'please!'.</p>
</li>
<li><p>We can say to our children: 让人帮忙要说请字。</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-12T00:13:56.893Z
2024-02-29T05:20:24.507Z
2024-02-29T05:20:24.507Z
dan
<ol>
<li><p>It is neutral, but on most occasions, people will politely ask &quot;可以把手機遞給我嗎?&quot;, or friendly say &quot;把手機遞給我好(行/能)嗎?&quot;</p>
</li>
<li><p>It is rare to use &quot;请你&quot; as begging in the past, but has been used more frequently by people with western exposure. You can sometimes hear people say &quot;请你了, 行嗎?&quot; = &quot;麻煩你了&quot;, &quot;求你了&quot;.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Again, the well-educated people with western exposure tend to tell their kids &quot;對阿姨要有礼貌, 要說请.&quot;</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-11T18:00:43.623Z
2021-10-11T18:00:43.623Z
r13
<p>I have three questions about translating the English word &quot;please&quot; into Chinese:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>&quot;Please hand me my phone&quot; in Google translate is 请把手机递给我. I don't feel like I've heard a native speaker use 请 like that. Does that sentence sound natural? Is it commonly used? If not, what is the polite way ask for something like this?</p>
</li>
<li><p>In English we'll say &quot;please!!&quot; as a stand alone sentence to indicate begging for something. I think the equivalent is 求你了! Is that right?</p>
</li>
<li><p>In English, if a child demands something impolitely, we'll tell them, &quot;say please&quot;. Is there a Chinese equivalent (of telling a child to ask politely)?</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-29T05:36:00.163Z
For 2., I hear people say 拜托.
Becky 李蓓
<translation><politeness>
How to express "please" (i.e how to ask for things politely)?
# How to express "please" (i.e how to ask for things politely)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-10-11)

I have three questions about translating the English word "please" into Chinese:

1. "Please hand me my phone" in Google translate is 请把手机递给我. I don't feel like I've heard a native speaker use 请 like that. Does that sentence sound natural? Is it commonly used? If not, what is the polite way ask for something like this?
2. In English we'll say "please!!" as a stand alone sentence to indicate begging for something. I think the equivalent is 求你了! Is that right?
3. In English, if a child demands something impolitely, we'll tell them, "say please". Is there a Chinese equivalent (of telling a child to ask politely)?

**Tags:** translation, politeness

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: For 2., I hear people say 拜托.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-10-12. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Most of time, 请 is used for ***politely request/demand/ask/*** nowadays. E.g. A teacher can say 请不要说话了. This demand is much milder than 闭嘴！

请把我的手机拿过来 can be a milder way to order or command. The tone plays an important role as well.

in your circumstances, I would probably say:

1. 麻烦帮我把手机递给我. 麻烦 connotes *to trouble you(sorry to bother)*，帮我: to help me(not your responsibility).
2. 求你了 is a proper one for that sense of 'please!'.
3. We can say to our children: 让人帮忙要说请字。


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### Answer by username_3 on 2021-10-11. Score: 2

1. It is neutral, but on most occasions, people will politely ask "可以把手機遞給我嗎?", or friendly say "把手機遞給我好(行/能)嗎?"
2. It is rare to use "请你" as begging in the past, but has been used more frequently by people with western exposure. You can sometimes hear people say "请你了, 行嗎?" = "麻煩你了", "求你了".
3. Again, the well-educated people with western exposure tend to tell their kids "對阿姨要有礼貌, 要說请."


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