When you’ve finished a meal and are asked if you’d like any more, in English you might decline the offer by saying “Thanks, but I’m full”; “No thanks, I’ve had plenty”; “No, I’d better not, thank you”; “Thanks, but I couldn’t eat another thing”; “No thanks, I’m stuffed”, or even “No thank you, I have had an elegant sufficiency and any more would be a superfluous indulgence.” Other ways to express this are discussed on this page.
In French you might say “J’ai trop mangé” (“I’ve eaten too much.”), “Je suis rassasié” (I’m satisfied), or “Je n’en peux plus” (“I can’t [take] any more.”) . One phrase to avoid, at least in France, is the literal translation of “I’m full” – Je suis plein – which means I’m pregnant or I’m drunk. Apparently in French-speaking parts of Belgium and Quebec Canada it’s fine to use it as it does mean “I’m full” [source].
How would you decline the offer in your language?
Is it polite to do so in your culture?
I suppose the acceptability of je suis plein in Belgium probably axes our theory that this French idiom was the reason why, as Inez was telling us yesterday, ik ben vol is acceptable in (Netherlands) Dutch but not in Flemish for “I’m full”. Unless, of course, it used to be equally bad in Belgian French but Belgian francophones have subsequently been influenced by English or other languages while French ones and Belgian batavophones (i.e. Dutch/Flemish speakers) haven’t (or the source is incorrect and it is also incorrect in Belgian French).
The phrase “Belgium and Quebec” to describe French-speaking areas outside France is incorrect. In Belgium, French is linited to Wallonia and Brussels, and in Canada it is spoken by significant communities in provinces other than Quebec, most notably in officially bilingual New Brunswick and in northern and eastern Ontario (nearly 1 million speakers taken together), as well as smaller historical communities in other provinces, especially Manitoba,
Instead “Belgium and Quebec”, accuracy demands the phrase “Canada and Wallonia-Brussels”.
You missed “Je suis repu(e)”, very common in casual settings here in France.
German is similar to French with “Im full”. “Ich bin voll” means “I’m drunk”. To refuse you say, “Nein danke, Ich habe kein hunger.” (No, thank you, I have no hunger. )
I catalan:
Estic tip = I am full.
It is not rude to say it.
@Sue Torres: Actually in Germany we say “I’m full” (Ich bin voll) as well. The phrase “Nein danke, ich habe keinen Hunger” would be rather used to say that you are not hungry at all when somebody offers you food. You would have to add “mehr” to express that you are full. “Nein danke, ich habe keinen Hunger mehr” (No thank you, I’m not hungry anymore). Other things you could say: “Ich bin satt” (I’m full), “Ich hatte genung” (I’ve had plenty) or children sometimes say “Ich kann nicht mehr” (“I can’t anymore”) when they aren’t able to finish their plate.