alstublieft

Dutch

Etymology

A contraction and univerbation of als +‎ het +‎ u +‎ belieft, literally “if it pleases you”. Calque of French s’il vous plaît.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˌɑlstyˈblift/
Audio: (file)
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: als‧tu‧blieft
Rhymes: -ift

Interjection

alstublieft

(formal) please
(formal) here you are (when handing something to someone else)

Usage notes

Alstublieft is generally used when giving a payment to a salesperson, to which the salesperson responds with dank u wel or an equivalent. It is also used by the salesperson when returning change to the customer, in which case the customer responds with dank u wel upon having received the change.

Synonyms

(only the sense "please"): a.u.b.
(both senses): alstu, alsjeblieft (informal)

Derived terms

Descendants

Berbice Creole Dutch: asblifu
Skepi Creole Dutch: asublifi