Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

Veuillez S.V.P.

English translation:

could you please

Added to glossary by Jana Cole (X)
Nov 16, 2008 20:45
15 yrs ago
3 viewers *
French term

Veuillez

Non-PRO French to English Other Business/Commerce (general) customer letter
If you wanted to be super-thorough, how would you translate this:

S.V.P. Veuillez me faire parvenir la confirmation.

My tries:

If you would, please send me a confirmation.
Please kindly send me a confirmation.

as opposed to using please twice or just leaving out one:

Please send me a confirmation.
Change log

Nov 16, 2008 20:55: Enza Longo changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (1): Etienne Muylle Wallace

Non-PRO (3): mchd, Julie Barber, Enza Longo

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Discussion

Catherine Gilsenan Nov 17, 2008:
Veuillez Although "Veuillez" is not too flowery, it is the subjunctive, which implies "requesting the other party to do something", not simply saying "please do". Don't you think? See my answer.
Enza Longo Nov 17, 2008:
agree with Sheila SVP veuillez (or Veuillez SVP) is very commonly used, at least here in Quebec, and simply means please or could/would you please. I find it very amusing that something so elementary is the subject of such a lengthy discussion.
Sheila Wilson Nov 17, 2008:
Need to be careful of register here When the French want to use ultra-formal and flowery language, they don't use "veuillez" - they use "je vous prie de bien vouloir". The same must apply in English. Although the long phrases posted here convey the same meaning, they do not have the same register as "veuillez" - this is quite simply "please".

Proposed translations

+17
5 mins
Selected

could you please

....
Peer comment(s):

agree Julie Barber : or even just "please"
1 min
agree Enza Longo : or could you kindly send me - anything else would be way too superfluous in my opinion
3 mins
agree Alain Pommet : "Please" (just once) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5aVhLjT7UE
14 mins
agree Rahdne Zola (X) : or simply just "please"
18 mins
agree Michael GREEN : And agree with Enza "Could you (or "would you") kindly ..."
18 mins
agree Aude Sylvain
20 mins
agree Assimina Vavoula
20 mins
agree Trudy Peters
22 mins
agree Estelle Demontrond-Box
27 mins
agree Katarina Peters : simply "Please"
32 mins
agree Jean-Louis S.
40 mins
agree liz cencetti (X) : Or just "Please", yes.
58 mins
agree Sheila Wilson : Please confirm; Please send confirmation (no "a", "me" optional)
1 hr
agree swanda
1 hr
agree Adsion Liu
1 hr
agree myrden : D'accord aussi avec l'alternative de Michael
1 hr
agree Kristina Kolic
2 hrs
disagree Jennifer Levey : This does not properly reflect the instruction (not a request) implied in the French text. At a pinch it would work with 'would' instead of 'could'.
5 hrs
agree Stéphanie Soudais
16 hrs
disagree B D Finch : "Would", not "could". Of course they can do it, that doesn't mean that they will.
18 hrs
agree AllegroTrans : would you please, or simply "please" or "kindly"
1 day 44 mins
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
4 mins

I would be most grateful if you could send me the confirmation

another option...
Peer comment(s):

neutral Sheila Wilson : Terribly formal
1 hr
neutral B D Finch : Not merely over formal, but also "I should be most grateful if you would send me ..." would be the correct way to put it.
18 hrs
Something went wrong...
6 mins

I would ask you to kindly let me have a confirmation

veuillez bedeutet <wollen Sie bitte ...>
Peer comment(s):

neutral Sheila Wilson : Terribly formal, and not "a" confirmation
1 hr
Something went wrong...
+4
17 mins

would you be so kind as to send...

yet another
Peer comment(s):

agree lundy
6 mins
thx
agree 333monkeys : yes/ that's the best -- would you be so kind as to send...
33 mins
thx
neutral Sheila Wilson : Rather old-fashioned and over-formal
53 mins
so I'm both
agree swanda
1 hr
agree liz askew : Yep.
12 hrs
Something went wrong...
-1
2 hrs

Please be sure to ...

It's a barely-veiled instruction - 'Send me the confirmation or else!' - but in can be 'wrapped up' in English to match the politeness of the French.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2008-11-16 23:02:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The French is somewhat usual (likely non-native), to the extent that I'm wondering if there might be a typo (author picked the wrong word from the spell-checker?).

Maybe 'veuillez' should be 'veillez' ... ? The French would still be 'unusual' - but my proposed translation would fit even better...

Banque de dépannage linguistique - Veuillez et veillez - [ Translate this page ]La deuxième personne du pluriel de l’impératif des verbes vouloir et veiller ont une graphie presque identique : veuillez et veillez. ...
66.46.185.79/bdl/gabarit_bdl.asp?id=1939 - 16k - Cached - Similar pages
Peer comment(s):

neutral Sheila Wilson : I don't understand your comment about 'veuillez being unusual - I'm non-native but I live in France and I see it all the time
7 hrs
I'm well aware of the standard use of veuillez meaning 'please' - what's unusual here is the tautology of 'SVP veuillez'.
neutral Emma Paulay : "Veuillez" is bog standard, everyday French.
9 hrs
I'm well aware of the bog-standard use of veuillez meaning 'please' - what's unusual here is the tautology of 'SVP veuillez'.
disagree Julie Barber : Nothing to do with an instruction, it's polite French used in every day correspondence and it's certainly not a typo
11 hrs
The tautology of 'SVP veuillez' is not 'used in every-day correspondence'.
neutral Stéphanie Soudais : Je ne vois rien de terriblement choquant dans "SVP veuillez". Toutefois il aurait mieux fallu écrire "Veuillez, SVP,"
14 hrs
neutral B D Finch : I think that the repetition is just bad style and has no other significance.
16 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
15 hrs

I/We should be grateful if you would kindly confirm .... (details or whatever it may be)

"We should be grateful" is usually the term used.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 hrs (2008-11-17 19:55:22 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

OK, you can miss out the "kindly". But this is a very common expression in English. Although "Veuillez" is not too flowery, it is the subjunctive, which implies "requesting the other party to do something", not simply saying "please do". Don't you think?
Peer comment(s):

agree B D Finch : Overblown, but frequently used (unfortunately), so why not? At least you get the "should" and the "would" the right way around and avoid the common mistake of using "could".
3 hrs
Thank you
neutral Sheila Wilson : I don't believe that either is a good translation for a simple "veuillez"
5 hrs
Please see my note
Something went wrong...
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