ていただけませんか

ていただけませんか is a polite request, "could you please ~?". It goes after the て-form of a verb, and it is what you say to a teacher, a customer, a stranger or someone senior at work.

いただく is the humble verb for "receive", and いただける is its potential form. Word for word you are asking "can I not receive your doing ~?", so the request is about what you get, not what the other person does.

How polite

てくれませんか and てもらえませんか are polite requests. ていただけませんか adds humility, and ていただけないでしょうか softens it again – the form for a big favour or a formal email.

Among friends it sounds stiff; use てくれないきごう？ there.

いただけませんか, not いただきませんか

The potential いただける is what turns the sentence into a request. Without it the sentence no longer asks anything.

• × 教えていただきませんか → 教えていただけませんか

Usage notes

These go beyond the て-form request.

お and ご instead of the て-form

In shops and business email the て-form is often replaced by お + the ます-stem, or ご + a する-noun.

ていただけますか

Without the negative the request is still polite, but a little more direct.