Can I have the bill please?

How do you say can I have the bill please in Italian?

Posso avere il conto, per favore?

There are more ways to translate this sentence, but the most common is posso avere il conto, per favore?. It is a direct translation of the English sentence.

Posso comes from the verb potere, can, which is a modal verb. Modal verbs are the only verbs in Italian that can be followed by an infinitive verb. Avere is an infinitive verb and it means to have.

You can also use the conditional tense, could I have the bill please?.

Although it’s a first-person sentence, this translation is valid to be used in all kinds of situations. You can use it both when you’re dining alone or with a group of people, although when you are among others there’s another sentence that’s even more common.

---

Ci porta il conto, per favore?

Ci porta il conto, per favore? literally translates into English as “will you bring us the bill please?”, where porta is a conjugation of the verb portare, to bring.

I recommend that you use this sentence only if you are dining with other people. If you are eating alone, use the other translation!

---

Il conto, per favore

There’s also il conto, per favore, which is more direct but still polite enough to use in any restaurant. It literally translates to the bill, please and can be used in all kinds of situations.

---

Mi porti il conto, per favore

Of all the translations we’ve seen of can I have the bill please in Italian, mi porti il conto, per favore is the most straightforward and direct because it features an imperative mood verb. It literally translates to bring me the bill, please.

---

More free Italian resources

❤️ If you liked this lesson on how to say can I have the bill please in Italian, share it with your friends!