Could I possibly…?
Formal Polite
What it really means
An extra-soft request. The word "possibly" signals the speaker knows they are asking a favour. The bigger the favour, the longer and more indirect the request usually becomes in British English.
Chinese explanation
加倍柔化的请求。possibly 表明说话人自知是在麻烦你。在英式英语里，求的忙越大，句子往往就越长、越绕。
Example conversation
A: Could I possibly borrow your notes from last week?
B: Course you can — I'll send you a photo tonight.
A：我能不能借一下你上周的笔记？
B：当然可以——我今晚拍照发给你。
What you could say back
Related phrases
All Politeness Decoder
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· Last checked 24 July 2026 · Report a mistake