qǐng suàn yíxià shǒuxùfèi.

to ask (politely)

Breakdown of qǐng suàn yíxià shǒuxùfèi.

• 一下yíxià: once
• 手续费shǒuxùfèi: service fee
• 算suàn: to calculate

Questions & Answers about qǐng suàn yíxià shǒuxùfèi.

What does 请 do at the beginning of the sentence?

请 makes the sentence more polite. In this kind of request, it works a lot like please in English.

So:

• 请算一下手续费。 = Please calculate the service fee.

In real life, Chinese often uses 请 to soften requests, especially when speaking to staff, clerks, or service workers.

Why is 算 used here? Doesn’t it mean count?

Yes, 算 can mean count, but it also commonly means calculate or work out.

In this sentence, 算手续费 means:

• calculate the service fee
• work out the handling charge
• figure out the fee

So here 算 is not about counting objects one by one. It is about calculating an amount.

What does 一下 mean here? Is it literally one time?