"kwe poy yo"
Hi, and many thanks for setting up the site!
My dad recently told me that if you'd like to say a polite general-purpose 'may i?' in Spanish, there is a phrase that works really well.
It sounds, at least the way my dad says it, like "kwe poy yo?".
Is this right, and how would it be written in Spanish, please?
7 Answers
The closest I can guess is ¿qué apoyo? It sounds like it. Hehe.
If you want to say "May I help you?" You can try "¿Puedo ayudarle?"
The word "apoyo" means support. Please ask your dad to write it down as suggested.
Good luck and welcome to the site. 
Though it sounds a bit different, it is possible your father was saying "con permiso"?
That's the normal way of excusing yourself through a crowd, be it a bus, or sidewalk, or bull fight (those 3 things were my first exposure to Mexico, and that phrase, the first one I learned organically, just by listening to the people say it, over and over and over.)
That's my guess anyway.
Thanks very much! This is great stuff.
I think that "¿qué apoyo? " was almost certainly the phrase, and I must have misunderstood the meaning. Very glad I asked!
This plus "¿puedo ayudarle?" and the phrases for the other side, "¿le importa?" and "con permiso" will be really good to have at my fingertips. And the modal verbs thing has started me thinking!
I really appreciate your help... gracias!
No problem - thanks for your answer!
Well, my Dad could be wrong! The example he gave me was trying to squeeze through a crowded train carriage, where to get through, you'd say "May I...? Terribly sorry, do you mind?". That kind of thing. There must be some nice poetic phrase.
Or alternatively, to get your coat hanging from a hook behind someone, you'd say "Excuse me, sorry to bother you, may I just... " Etc.
I have a feeling that there is a conjugation of 'puedo' and a 'yo' in there, it's just getting it into a phrase that's the problem.
In Spanish we don't have modals that indicate politeness, so it's is up to your choice of words and style to convey it.
Also, ask your dad to repeat, or even write down, if possible, what he wanted to say, since your transcription of his words sounds like nothing I've ever heard.
I think that "¿qué apoyo? " was almost certainly the phrase, and I must have misunderstood the meaning.
That may well be, and I agree that Qué apoyo sounds the most like what you spelled phonetically, but I don´t understand contextually (given the context you provided) how that would make sense I¨m sorry I can´t help better. I´d definitely recommend talking to your dad.
¿Puedo? ......may I?
