# הנה vs. בבקשה



## sawyeric1

They both can mean "here you go" when handing something to someone. Are there times when one is used and the other isn't, or are they interchangeable?

Thanks


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## Drink

הנה means "here it is"
בבקשה means "you're welcome"


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## slus

בבקשה is more polite. When giving something to someone it is the proper thing to say.
הנה is a litetal translation of here. It is less used.
Impolite native speakers would usually just say קח or קחי.


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## amikama

I agree with slus


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## elroy

Drink said:


> בבקשה means "you're welcome"


 Not just.  It also means "here you go" when giving someone something.  It's like the German "bitte" and the Italian "prego."


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## Drink

elroy said:


> Not just.  It also means "here you go" when giving someone something.  It's like the German "bitte" and the Italian "prego."



Yeah but wouldn't you only say it when the person asked for it? Therefore it's just like пожалуйста in Russian and similar enough to "you're welcome" in English. Even if you don't necessarily say "you're welcome" in those situations in English, that's what it means.


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## elroy

Drink said:


> Yeah but wouldn't you only say it when the person asked for it?


 No.

And no, it doesn't mean "you're welcome" in that context.


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## Eredin

elroy said:


> No.


I will have to disagree with you here.
A person wouldn't just hand you over something you are not expecting and say "בבקשה".
Usually it used after somebody asked for something, like at a restaurant for example when the server gives you your order.
So I would say:
It is used like "please" at the end of the sentence to make the request polite.
It is used like "here you go" when handing somebody something like I just explained.
It could also be used when someone requests permission to do something (usually to use a belonging of yours and so), so people might says בבקשה! like, go ahead! by all means!.. feel free!.. etc


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## elroy

What if I say "I have a gift for you" and then go grab it while you wait.  When I come back, I can't say בבקשה when I hand it to you?


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## Eredin

elroy said:


> What if I say "I have a gift for you" and then go grab it while you wait.  When I come back, I can't say בבקשה when I hand it to you?



"I will have to disagree with you here.
A person wouldn't just hand you over *something you are not expecting* and say "בבקשה"."

If somebody goes to fetch your gift and says בבקשה , you ARE expecting it.
But regardless, I think this discussion has become too nitpicky. The concept is understood.


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## elroy

Thank you. 


Eredin said:


> If somebody goes to fetch your gift and says בבקשה , you ARE expecting it.


 That's still a different situation from you _asking _for something, in which case Drink's point makes sense.  But בבקשה's uses are broader.


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## bazq

"Here you go" is a perfect translation for this kind of "בבקשה".
When you hand over a present to someone and say "בבקשה" there is no intention of saying "you're welcome", it's not "אין על מה/בכיף".
It's a speech act for "*take this*, i'm passing something from me to you". In this situation it's much closer in meaning to הנה than to "you're welcome" (in fact, you could just as easily say "הנה" to the same effect). You can think about this "בבקשה" in a different situation which also occurs in Hebrew: You are trying to prove a point to someone, and you guys are arguing and arguing to no end. Then, he says something that supports your argument, and you say "נוו, בבקשה! לזה אני מתכוון בדיוק/זה מה שאמרתי. Here too the speaker does not mean "you're welcome" in any shape or form (and the other guy couldn't expect it, otherwise he wouldn't have said it). This example is perfectly translated to "here/there you go!" ("היא הנותנת", if you will). 

So, in some aspects of it, namely in certain situations that give rise to this pragmatic use, "בבקשה" can be considered to be very similar to "הנה". Slus' reply above still stands - when handing over something to someone בבקשה is more polite, הנה is "non-polite" (notice it's not *im*polite).


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## elroy

I agree 100%, and just to clarify, I agree that "you're welcome" is a completely separate use of בבקשה.  I believe that in #6, Drink was arguing that in the situation where you ask for something, there is some loose connection with the *literal* meaning of "you're welcome" (since, by giving it to the person, you are implying that they are welcome to have it), but that's a stretch in my opinion and more confusing than helpful.  It's much more helpful of think of a) "you're welcome" as a response to "thank you" and b) the polite הנה as two independent, separate uses - again, just like "bitte" in German (off of which בבקשה is likely calqued) and "prego" in Italian. 

Yet another usage is when you open a door for someone.  It's a polite way to say "Go ahead."


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## sawyeric1

If you make it a sentence, like:

הנה שבעה שקלים
Here’s seven shekels

You can't say "בבקשה שבעה שקלים", can you?


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## elroy

Right.  בבקשה is used on its own with that meaning.


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## sawyeric1

If בבקשה is considered the polite way to say it, what is הנה considered? Slang? Informal? Pretty direct? Just not as polite?


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## amikama

הנה is similar to בבקשה. Not slang, not informal, just a bit less polite than בבקשה (but still not impolite).


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## sawyeric1

But when you're showing someone something, you never use הנה, right? Ex:

And here is the kids room
וכאן חדר הילדים


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## amikama

sawyeric1 said:


> But when you're showing someone something, you never use הנה, right?


No, you can use הנה in this context. But כאן/פה are preferred to it.


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