Learn English – Difference between “kindly” and “please”

indian-englishmeaning-in-context

Manager to player

  1. Kindly practice every day

  2. Please practice every day

Teacher to student

  1. Kindly wipe the blackboard

  2. Please wipe the blackboard

Student to teacher

  1. Kindly give me a blank paper

  2. Please give me a blank paper

Sister to brother

  1. Kindly pass the butter

  2. Please pass the butter

Which is correct usage in the above contexts?

Best Answer

This is a matter of tone or "register".

"Kindly" is seen in America as being old-fashioned and overly formal. Not incorrect, but rare and getting rarer.

See, for example, this ngram result for "kindly reply" vs. "please reply".

The last time the former was as common as the latter was about 1910. As of 2000, "please reply" was about 25x as common.

I can't speak for BrE usage.

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