と伝えていただけませんか details
write + could you pass on that — asking whoever you are speaking to to carry a message to someone else
kaku to tsutaete itadakemasen ka
could you pass on that — asking whoever you are speaking to to carry a message to someone else
恐れ入りますが、山田さんに折り返しお電話すると伝えていただけませんか。
osoreirimasu ga, yamada-san ni orikaeshi o denwa suru to tsutaete itadakemasen ka.
I'm sorry to trouble you, but could you tell Yamada that I'll call back? formal
すみません、田中さんに、明日の会議は十時に始まると伝えてもらえますか。
sumimasen, tanaka-san ni, ashita no kaigi wa juuji ni hajimaru to tsutaete moraemasu ka.
Excuse me — could you tell Tanaka that tomorrow's meeting starts at ten? neutral
- dictionary form
- past
- negative
- negative + past
- na-adjective
- noun
- formal
- colloquial
- colloquial
- alternant
Examples
could you pass on that — the speaker cannot reach the person, so the listener is asked to deliver the words
恐れ入りますが、山田さんに折り返しお電話すると伝えていただけませんか。
osoreirimasu ga, yamada-san ni orikaeshi o denwa suru to tsutaete itadakemasen ka.
I'm sorry to trouble you, but could you tell Yamada that I'll call back? formal
すみません、田中さんに、明日の会議は十時に始まると伝えてもらえますか。
sumimasen, tanaka-san ni, ashita no kaigi wa juuji ni hajimaru to tsutaete moraemasu ka.
Excuse me — could you tell Tanaka that tomorrow's meeting starts at ten? neutral
ごめん、先に帰るって田中さんに伝えといて。
gomen, saki ni kaerutte tanaka-san ni tsutaetoite.
Sorry — tell Tanaka I'm heading home ahead of everyone. casual
ご家族の皆様によろしくとお伝えください。
go kazoku no minasama ni yoroshiku to o tsutae kudasai.
Please give my regards to everyone in your family. formal
Formation
{P}と伝えていただけませんかattaches to plain form{NA-stem}だと伝えていただけませんかattaches to na-adjective{N}だと伝えていただけませんかattaches to nounあいさつ表現＋と伝えていただけませんか（よろしくと…／お大事にと…）attaches to noun phrase (schematic)
Variant notes
- とお伝えください — honorific 伝える as a direct request — the set shape for courtesies (奥様によろしくとお伝えください); it tells rather than asks, so it is shorter but less deferential than the question form.
- って伝えて — casual quotative って for と, with the request tail clipped — 先に帰るって伝えといて.
- と伝えてもらえますか — plain もらう for humble いただく — everyday politeness between colleagues.
- と伝えておいてください — ておく adds that the telling should be done in advance, before the person is next seen; contracts to 伝えといて in speech.
Notes
listener to utter those words, 〜と伝えてください asks them to deliver
the content to someone else, in whatever words they like.
Related patterns
Similar
ていただけませんか is the general deferential request and takes any action as its content; this is that formula frozen onto 伝える, so what the slot holds is no longer the favour but the MESSAGE, and the favour is always the same one — carrying words to a third party.
Same relay request one tier down — 伝えてくれませんか is what you say to a colleague or a family member, while いただけませんか humbles the speaker and is what a caller says to a stranger answering the office phone.
Both move words through a third party, in opposite directions — と言っていた delivers to the listener what someone else already said, while と伝えていただけませんか asks the listener to carry the SPEAKER's words on to someone who is not there.