Spanish Phrase
Un café solo, por favor.
Meaning
Literally ‘A coffee black, please.’ In everyday speech it means ‘A black coffee, please,’ i.e., an espresso served without milk or sugar. The phrase is a polite way to order a coffee in a café or restaurant.
When to use
Use this sentence when you’re at a coffee shop, restaurant, or any place that serves drinks and you want a plain espresso. It works in both formal and informal settings, and the ‘por favor’ adds courtesy.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Uncafésoloporfavor
Indefinite article (Un)
‘Un’ is the masculine singular indefinite article, equivalent to ‘a’ or ‘one’ in English.
Noun gender (café)
‘café’ is a masculine noun, so it takes the article ‘un’ and any masculine adjectives.
Adjective ‘solo’ (black coffee)
In this context ‘solo’ means ‘black’, i.e., without milk or sugar. It does not mean ‘alone’.
Polite request (por favor)
‘Por favor’ is a set phrase used to make a request courteous; it literally means ‘by favor’.
🗨In Conversation
Un café solo, por favor.
A black coffee, please.
Claro, ¿algo más?
Sure, anything else?
✕Common Mistakes
Solo un café, por favor.
Learners often think ‘solo’ means ‘only’, leading to sentences like ‘Solo un café, por favor’ which actually means ‘Only a coffee, please’, not ‘black coffee’. Use ‘solo’ after the noun to indicate ‘black’.
Un café solo, porfavor.
‘Por favor’ is always two separate words; writing it as one word is a spelling error.
↔Alternatives
Un café negro, por favor.
A black coffee, please.
Un espresso, por favor.
An espresso, please.
Un café sin leche, por favor.
A coffee without milk, please.
Cultural Tip
In Spain and many Latin‑American countries, ‘café solo’ refers to a single shot of espresso served in a small cup. If you want a larger coffee with milk, you’d say ‘café con leche’. The word ‘solo’ here is about the drink’s composition, not about being alone, so don’t confuse it with the English ‘solo’. Also, it’s common to add ‘por favor’ at the end of any order to sound polite.