juntosHow to ask for the bill in Spanish: ¿me cobra?, not quiero pagar
In Mexico you ask them to charge you. It sounds strange in English and perfectly natural at the table.
Quiero pagar is grammatical and a little blunt, the way "I want to pay" would be in English. The universal phrase is la cuenta, por favor or the fuller ¿me trae la cuenta? (will you bring me the bill). Mexico adds its own: ¿me cobra?, literally "will you charge me?", which is the most local way to ask.
What comes next: ¿junto o separado? (together or separately), ¿efectivo o tarjeta? (cash or card), and in many places the card machine comes to the table, so ¿con tarjeta? while you hold it up is all you need. Tipping is la propina, around ten to fifteen percent in Mexico, and ¿le pongo propina? is the waiter asking whether to add it on the card.
If you're treating: yo invito (it's on me). If you're splitting: vamos a la mitad or, the Mexican way, a la americana. And ¿está incluido el servicio? answers the question you were about to ask.
The reel. This slip, as it happens, in thirty seconds.
Try your own sentence
Type any Spanish sentence and the Juntos tutor grades it out of 100, names the slip and shows the fix. No account.
Also worth knowing
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| La cuenta, por favor. | The bill, please. |
| ¿Con tarjeta, se puede? | Can I pay by card? |
| Yo invito. | It's on me. |
Think you would catch slips like this one in the moment? Play Spot the slip, a ten-round quiz built from every slip on this site.
Every answer graded, with the fix and why
Grammar, reading, speaking and messaging in one Spanish program, A1 to C1. The tutor catches slips like this one before a person hears them. 7 days free, no card.
Start your free trialMore from Juntos: free Spanish grammar checker · Spanish spell and accent checker · AI Spanish tutor · practice Spanish with friends · Spanish games · all grammar courses · all practice scenarios · common Spanish mistakes · Spanish false friends · Spot the slip quiz · Spanish verb conjugations · verb conjugator · best AI Spanish tutors compared · Duolingo alternatives · about Juntos · home