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In English when you hold out something to someone, sometimes a vocal prompt like "here" or "there" is said to indicate that you are giving it to the person.

In Chinese (or at least in Singapore) we sometimes use something that sounds like "na" or even use the Chinese word "给(gěi)" as an expression while holding out something towards the recipient.

EDIT: Perhaps I should have been more specific about what I'm referring to. I'm not referring to giving "gifts", but just giving in general. Something like just passing a note to somebody or when someone looks in need of a tissue and you just hold it out to them.

(Question) What's the equivalent of this concept in Japanese? I ask because I think it feels quite awkward to either remain silent, or to form a complete sentence asking the person to receive it especially if you are familiar with the person.

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    I say はい、どうぞ and I'm curious to see the answers to your question.
    – Rudy the Reindeer
    Commented Nov 13, 2011 at 13:40
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    I do not know what the tag [single-word-requests] means. Does that mean that “はい、どうぞ” is not an answer you are looking for?
    – Tsuyoshi Ito
    Commented Nov 13, 2011 at 14:56
  • @TsuyoshiIto I included both "single-word" and "phrase" requests because I didn't want to limit the answer to either of them.
    – Flaw ♦
    Commented Nov 13, 2011 at 22:24
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    Related to this - I keep wanting to say どうぞ when giving money to cashiers, but my friends tell me that is strange (because I am under obligation to do so). And I feel uncomfortable saying nothing. Might be my cultural conditioning. What is appropriate in that situation?
    – Amadan
    Commented Nov 15, 2011 at 14:38
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    @Flaw: I wasn't meaning to nitpick - I wasn't sure whether Tsuyoshi meant "Thanks, but I already knew that", or "Thanks, I now understand". Also, I would prefer that you didn't use txt-speak when replying to me - please use "please" rather than "pls". Nothing against you - I just really dislike txt-speak.
    – Golden Cuy
    Commented Nov 20, 2011 at 6:49

2 Answers 2

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はい

どうぞ

これ、あげます

小さいものですが…

よけいなものなんですが…

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    小さいものですが is strange. Rather, つまらないものですが is common.
    – user458
    Commented Nov 14, 2011 at 9:11
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    よけいなものなんですが also sounds unusual.
    – Tsuyoshi Ito
    Commented Nov 14, 2011 at 13:56
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    It's probably worth clarifying that つまらないものですが would be used in situations like giving a gift, not when simply handing a note to someone.
    – ジョン
    Commented Jun 9, 2012 at 3:41
  • I think ほら can be used as well, only in informal situation though.
    – Promesso
    Commented Mar 9, 2015 at 18:53
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In dramas and anime I often see people just saying これ

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    Or a simple variation like はい、これ！
    – user1478
    Commented Feb 15, 2013 at 9:59

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