Italian Phrase
Ci serve più acqua, per favore.
Meaning
A polite way to ask for additional water for the whole table or group. It conveys a courteous request and is commonly heard in restaurants, cafés, or at home when the water pitcher needs refilling.
When to use
Use this sentence when you are at a restaurant, a family gathering, or any setting where a group needs more water. It works equally well in formal and informal contexts because ‘per favore’ adds the necessary politeness.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Ciservepiùacquaperfavore
Ci (indirect object pronoun)
‘Ci’ replaces ‘a noi’ (to us) and is used with verbs like ‘servire’ to indicate who needs something.
serve (verb servire)
Third‑person singular present of ‘servire’; in this construction it works impersonally, meaning ‘we need’.
più (comparative)
Means ‘more’; placed before the noun it modifies.
acqua (noun)
The word for ‘water’; in restaurants you can specify ‘acqua naturale’ (still) or ‘acqua frizzante’ (sparkling).
per favore (polite phrase)
Literally ‘for favor’, used like ‘please’ to soften a request.
🗨In Conversation
Ci serve più acqua, per favore.
We need more water, please.
Certo, ve la porto subito.
Sure, I’ll bring it right away.
✕Common Mistakes
Ci voglio più acqua, per favore.
‘Voglio’ is first‑person singular (‘I want’). When speaking for a group you need the impersonal ‘serve’ or a plural form.
Ci serviamo più acqua, per favore.
‘Serviamo’ means ‘we serve’, which changes the meaning entirely.
Serve più acqua, per favore.
Missing the pronoun ‘Ci’ makes the request sound less inclusive and can be ambiguous.
↔Alternatives
Potremmo avere più acqua, per favore?
Could we have more water, please?
Ci può portare più acqua, per favore?
Could you bring us more water, please?
Vorremmo più acqua, per favore.
We would like more water, please.
Cultural Tip
In Italy it’s customary to ask for water politely; waiters often bring a small carafe of ‘acqua naturale’ (still) by default. If you prefer sparkling water, say ‘acqua frizzante, per favore’. The construction ‘Ci serve…’ is impersonal – it does not mean ‘we serve’, which would be ‘Noi serviamo’. Using ‘Ci serve’ avoids the literal translation and sounds natural to native speakers.