من فضلك

Please

Level 2

من فضلك (min faḍlika/ki) is the standard way to say 'please' in Modern Standard Arabic when asking for a favor or an object. It literally means 'from your favor.'

How It Works

In Modern Standard Arabic, politeness is expressed through specific formulas that soften requests. من فضلك is one of the most common and standard formulas for 'please.'

1. Morphological Structure:
The phrase consists of three parts:

  • من (min): The preposition 'from'.
  • فضل (faḍl): The noun meaning 'favor' or 'grace.' Because it follows a preposition, it is in the genitive case, which is why it takes a kasra (i) ending: faḍli.
  • ـك / ـكِ (-ka / -ki): The attached pronoun meaning 'your.'

2. Agreement Rules:
You must conjugate the suffix based on the person you are addressing:

  • من فضلكَ: Addressing one male.
  • من فضلكِ: Addressing one female.
  • من فضلكما: Addressing two people (dual).
  • من فضلكم: Addressing a group of men or a mixed group.
  • من فضلكنّ: Addressing a group of women.

3. Usage and Placement:
It is typically used with the imperative (command) to soften the request. It can be placed at the beginning or the end of the sentence. Note that the final short vowels (a/i) are formal markers of Modern Standard Arabic; in casual speech, these endings are often dropped. If you are offering something rather than making a request, you should use تفضل instead.

Examples (4)

  1. من فضلك، أعطني القلم.

    Please, give me the pen.

    Word by Word: From your favor, give me the pen.

    Addressing a male. Note the use of the masculine suffix '-ka' on 'faḍli-ka'.

  2. ساعديني في الواجب، من فضلكِ.

    Help me with the homework, please.

    Word by Word: Help me in the homework, from your favor.

    Addressing a female. The suffix changes to '-ki' to match the female addressee.

  3. تفضلوا بالدخول، من فضلكم.

    Please, come in (to a group).

    Word by Word: Proceed with entering, from your favor.

    Addressing a group. The plural suffix '-kum' is used here.

  4. قهوة بدون سكر، من فضلك.

    A coffee without sugar, please.

    Word by Word: Coffee without sugar, from your favor.

    A common way to order in a restaurant using a noun phrase followed by the polite marker.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the masculine form for everyone.

    يا فاطمة، ساعديني من فضلكَ.
    يا فاطمة، ساعديني من فضلكِ.

    Arabic is gender-sensitive. When speaking to a woman, you must use the feminine suffix '-ki' (min faḍliki).

  • Using it to mean 'You're welcome'.

    شكراً! - من فضلك.
    شكراً! - عفواً.

    In response to 'Thank you' (Shukran), you should use 'Afwan. 'Min faḍlika' is only for making requests.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

من فضلكLevel 2Please

Learn This First

To understand 'من فضلك', a learner needs to recognize the preposition 'من' and how possessive pronouns are attached to nouns to change the address from masculine to feminine. Understanding that prepositions trigger the genitive case helps explain the internal vowel structure of the phrase.

Words in This Pattern

فضلمن