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Spanish Phrase

¿Podemos pagar por separado?

/poˈðe.mos paˈɣaɾ po se.paˈɾa.do/
Meaning"Can we pay separately?"
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Meaning

A polite request asking whether the group can split the bill and each person pay for their own portion. It’s often used in restaurants, cafés, taxis, or any situation where a shared expense needs to be divided.

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When to use

Use this phrase when you’re dining with friends, sharing a ride, or buying tickets together and you want each person to settle their own share. It works in both casual and semi‑formal settings, but keep a friendly tone.

✦Grammar Breakdown

¿Podemospagarporseparado?

1

Podemos (poder)

First‑person plural present of poder, used to ask permission or possibility: ‘we can’ or ‘may we’.

2

Infinitive after poder

When poder is followed by another verb, that verb stays in the infinitive (pagar).

3

por separado

A fixed prepositional phrase meaning ‘separately’; por + adjective works like ‘in a separate way’.

4

Question marks

Spanish uses opening (¿) and closing (?) question marks for all interrogative sentences.

🗨In Conversation

A

¿Podemos pagar por separado?

Can we pay separately?

Claro, les prepararé cuentas individuales.

Sure, I’ll prepare individual checks.

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • ¿Podemos pagar separado?

    The preposition ‘por’ is required; ‘pagar separado’ sounds ungrammatical.

  • ¿Podemos pagar por separad@s?

    Do not drop the article; ‘por separado’ is a set phrase, not ‘por separado(s)’.

  • ¿Puedo pagar por separado?

    If you want to be more formal you can use ‘¿Podría…?’ (Could you...), but ‘Podemos’ is correct for a group asking together.

↔Alternatives

  • ¿Podemos dividir la cuenta?

    Can we split the bill?

  • ¿Cada uno paga lo suyo?

    Does each person pay for their own part?

  • ¿Podemos pagar cada uno por su cuenta?

    Can we each pay for ourselves?

es

Cultural Tip

In many Spanish‑speaking countries it’s perfectly normal to ask to split the bill, but some smaller family‑run restaurants may prefer a single check. If the staff says ‘no es posible’, you can politely suggest paying together and then reimbursing each other later. Also, note that “por separado” is more common in Spain, while “dividir la cuenta” is widely used across Latin America.