In the nhk course for Japanese, I came across the following lines:

> さくらさん。はい、どうぞ。

which means

> Sakura. This is for you.

But

> どうぞ

means "Please". Then how can

> はい、どうぞ

mean "This is for you"?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-17T06:22:54.533
54570
2017-11-17T11:39:54.307
26516
question
meaning
True meaning of はい、どうぞ
どうぞ can be translated as "Here you are," "This is for you."

はい can be translated as "Here you are," "This is for you" in some contexts.

はい、どうぞ can be translated as "Here you are," "This is for you." This is a
longer version.

This is not quite surprise.

For example,

"Thanks" expresses the gratitude to the listener. The shorter version.

"You" means the second person, the listener.

"Thank you" still means the gratitude to the listener. The longer version.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-17T09:20:02.513
54572
2017-11-17T09:20:02.513
54570
answer
If you are waiting for a drink at Pub, a bartender might say.

> はい、どうぞ。ボンベイ・サファイアのロックです。

Here you go. This is your Bombay Sapphire on the rocks. In this case, a
bartender serves your drink in front of you.

If you came across someone else just in front of a cashier register and you
want to give him first turn, you might say

> お先にどうぞ。

Αfter you.

Both case, どうぞ works as a recommendation. And, in most case, she does.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-17T09:41:55.890
54573
2017-11-17T09:41:55.890
54570
answer
It not so much that "どうぞ" has differently defined meanings as that it doesn't
have a "meaning" in and of itself. It is an expression used when inviting,
encouraging, permitting or asking someone to do something. (I agree it works
somewhat like "please".)

What, therefore, that something that you are inviting, etc. the addressee to
do by its utterance is wholly dependent on the context.

For example, if you say "どうぞ" to someone standing by an unoccupied chair,
gesturing toward it, by that you are inviting them to sit in it. This "どうぞ"
may be translated as "Take your seat."

Or picture two people rushing to a bus and reaching the door at the same time,
almost bumping into each other. One might say to the other "お先にどうぞ" or just
"どうぞ". This is a courteous way of telling them to go on first. A fitting
translation here may be "After you."

Or imagine, lastly, that I got you are a present and I'm holding it out to
you, so that I can give it to you. As an encouragement for you to take it, I
may accompany this with "はい、どうぞ", or, as I might as well say in English to
accomplish the same goal, "This is for you."

The use of all three "どうぞ"s above is the same. But since their contexts and
therefore their pragmatic meanings differ greatly, translations for these
instances of the same word may also differ to the same extent.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-17T11:39:54.307
54574
2017-11-17T11:39:54.307
11575
54570
answer