Episode 21 · Real Italian Conversations
Il conto, per favore - why the bill never comes in Italy
In Italy the waiter won't bring the bill until you ask for it. Tom waits an hour, then asks in Spanish.
Lunch by the sea is over, the plates are gone, and Tom is still waiting for a bill nobody is bringing.
Laura ·
In this lesson
| Italian | Word for word | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Il conto, per favore | the bill, please | how you ask for it |
| Scusi! | excuse me! (polite) | to catch the waiter's eye |
| Ci porta il conto? | do you bring us the bill? | can we have the bill? |
| Per favore | please | per, not por - por favor is Spanish |
| Paghi tu | you pay | you're paying |
Italian waiters don't bring the bill on their own: bringing it before you ask would feel like rushing you out. Catch their eye, say Scusi!, then Il conto, per favore.
SOURCES - https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/conto/ - https://www.mycornerofitaly.com/how-do-you-ask-for-the-bill-in-italian/ - https://www.romawonder.com/ask-for-the-bill-and-tipping-in-rome-restaurants/ - https://dailyitalianwords.com/italian-phrase-can-i-have-the-bill-please/ - https://italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast/please-in-italian
The dialogue
Every line from the video, with the English meaning under the Italian.
Laura
Tom, aspetti qualcosa?
Tom, are you waiting for something?
Tom
The bill! We finished an hour ago.
Laura
In Italia il conto lo chiedi tu!
In Italy, YOU ask for the bill!
Tom✗ Mistake
Scusi! Il conto, por favore!
Excuse me! The bill, por favore!
Laura
Por? Siamo in Spagna?
Por? Are we in Spain?
Tom✓ Correct
Il conto, per favore!
The bill, please!
Laura
Perfetto! Scusi, il conto, per favore.
Perfect! Excuse me, the bill, please.
Laura
Ecco il conto... paghi tu!
Here's the bill... you're paying!
The voices in this video are synthetic and the on-screen host is generated. The Italian itself is written and checked by a native speaker.
Ready to speak, not just watch?
Practise these phrases out loud with Laura in a small group or a private lesson.
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