אפשר לקבל את החשבון, בבקשה?

Can we get the bill, please?

Breakdown of אפשר לקבל את החשבון, בבקשה?

• את: direct object marker
• אפשר: possible
• בבקשה: please
• לקבל: to get
• חשבון: bill

Questions & Answers about אפשר לקבל את החשבון, בבקשה?

What does אפשר mean here?

אפשר literally means possible or it is possible. In this sentence, it is used in a very common Hebrew pattern for polite requests:

אפשר + infinitive

So אפשר לקבל... is like saying Is it possible to get... ?, which functions like Could I get... ? in natural English.

It sounds polite and indirect, which is why it works well in a restaurant.

Why is לקבל in the infinitive form?

Because after אפשר, Hebrew normally uses an infinitive.

• לקבל = to receive / to get
• אפשר לקבל = is it possible to get

This is similar to English possible to get. You do not need a fully conjugated verb here.

Why does Hebrew use לקבל for asking for the bill?

Hebrew often uses לקבל in this kind of request to mean get or receive.

So אפשר לקבל את החשבון? is literally something like Is it possible to receive the bill?, but naturally it means Could I get the bill?

In restaurant Hebrew, this is completely normal. Another common verb is להביא meaning to bring, as in אפשר להביא את החשבון? Both are natural.

What is את doing in the sentence?

את is the direct object marker. It appears before a definite direct object.

Here, החשבון means the bill, which is definite, so Hebrew uses את before it:

• את החשבון = the bill as the direct object

It does not get translated into English. It is just a grammatical marker.

Why is it החשבון and not just חשבון?

Because in this context you mean the bill, not just a bill.

• חשבון = a bill / an account
• החשבון = the bill

In a restaurant, you are asking for the specific bill for your table, so the definite article ה־ is used.

That is also why את appears: את is used before definite direct objects.

Is this sentence polite?

Yes. It is a very normal and polite way to ask for the bill.

The politeness comes from two things:

• אפשר... ? makes the request indirect and soft
• בבקשה adds please

So this is a good, safe sentence to use with waitstaff.

Is this sentence gender-specific?

No. This sentence is effectively gender-neutral.

That is one useful thing about this structure:

• אפשר does not change for the speaker's gender
• לקבל is an infinitive, so it also does not change for gender

So a man or a woman can say exactly the same sentence.

How is the sentence pronounced?

A common pronunciation guide is:

ef-SHAR le-ka-BEL et ha-khesh-BON, be-va-ka-SHA?

A few pronunciation notes:

• אפשר: stress on the last syllable
• לקבל: stress on the last syllable
• החשבון: stress on the last syllable
• בבקשה: stress on the last syllable

The ח in החשבון is a throaty sound, like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach.

Does בבקשה only mean please?

No. בבקשה can mean different things depending on context, including:

• please
• you’re welcome
• here you go

In this sentence, it clearly means please.

Can I leave out בבקשה?

Yes, you can, and people often do:

אפשר לקבל את החשבון?

That is still natural. But בבקשה makes it more polite and friendly, so it is a good idea to keep it, especially as a learner.

Are there shorter or more colloquial ways to say this?

Yes. Some common alternatives are:

• אפשר את החשבון, בבקשה? — very common, slightly shorter
• חשבון, בבקשה — very common in casual restaurant speech
• אפשר חשבון? — short and colloquial
• אפשר להביא את החשבון? — literally Could you bring the bill?

Your original sentence is clear, polite, and standard, so it is an excellent one to learn.

Why doesn’t Hebrew change word order the way English does in questions?

Hebrew usually does not need special question word order like English does.

In English, we often change the structure:

• I can get the bill
• Can I get the bill?

In Hebrew, the sentence can stay in the same basic order, and the fact that it is a question is shown by:

• intonation
• context
• sometimes a question mark in writing

So אפשר לקבל את החשבון, בבקשה? is understood as a question without any special inversion.

What does חשבון literally mean outside the restaurant context?

חשבון has a broader meaning than just bill. It can also mean:

• account
• calculation
• tab
• bill

In a restaurant, though, החשבון very naturally means the bill / the check.

So this is one of those words whose exact meaning depends on context.