This afternoon, my daughter and I went to the playground with her friend E. and her mother. I had only found out recently that the mother is anglophone, and so of course I chatted her up on the subject.
At some point, the girls came to see us. E. wanted something from her mother who reminded her to “say please”.
When a few moments later, my daughter asked something of me, begging me with “Bitte bitte bitte!”, E. stood beside her and said “Tu dois dire please.” (You have to say please.)
As a result, E.’s mother and I explained to the girls that
s’il te plaît = please = bitte
Don’t we have polite girls? 🙂