どうぞ – The Meaning of Dozo in Japanese is ‘Go for it’
The meaning of ‘dozo’ in Japanese is ‘go for it’. Or at least that is the one meaning that seems to sum it up the best. Dozo can also mean ‘please’, ‘here you go’, ‘you’re welcome’, and so on.
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‘Dozo’ is used to show Hospitality
So if you invite someone to your home you could say to them, 「どうぞ上がってください」”Please feel free to come in.” After the person is in your house and you are about to eat, you could say 「どうぞ召し上がってください」”Please eat”.
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After the meal if you have snacks you could say 「どうぞご自由に」”Feel free to help your self.”
‘Dozo’ means ‘Here you go’
Whenever someone asks you for something, 「鉛筆を貸していただけないでしょうか？」”Could you lend me a pencil”, you can respond with 「はい、どうぞ」”Yes, here you go.”
‘Dozo’ means ‘By All Means’
If you have a friend over to your house and you would like to see them again you can say 「是非どうぞ」” By all means”. Or if you want to tell them anytime you would say 「いつでもどうぞ」.
‘Dozo’ means ‘Please go ahead’
let’s say you are walking somewhere and someone is coming in the opposite direction that almost runs into you. Then you do that weird tango thing where both of you try to go left and right at the same time creating an invisible, impenetrable wall.
You can break through this by stoping, and telling the other person, 「どうぞ」and gesture in the direction you would like them to go.
If you are in line and feel like letting the person behind you go ahead you could also say 「お先にどうぞ」”Please go ahead.”
‘Dozo yoroshiku’ is ‘Glad to meet you’
If you meet someone for the first time, one word you will use is 「よろしく」”yoroshiku“. This is another complex word with a number of meanings. When you use it with ‘dozo’, 「どうぞよろしくお願いいたします」It is a polite way of saying “Glad to meet you.”
‘Dozo’ is used all the time
Dozo is a versatile word that you can use in a number of situations. If you want to ask people for their questions, 「質問をどうぞ」or if you want to ask people to follow you 「こちらどうぞ」. Dozo is used to politely make requests. 「どうぞ窓を開けてください」” Please feel free to open the window” or ” Open the window if you would like.
This is a very useful word that will help you sound polite. It will also open a world of new expressions at your fingertips. Japanese can be difficult at times. For that, improving your understanding of the grammar in the language is very important. For that I have what I feel is the best resource for Japanese Grammar reviewed below if you are interested.
2,110 Pages, No Word Wasted – A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar, Reviewed
Or, if you would like to learn more words in Japanese that are hard to translate please check out some of my other blog posts. 「どうぞよろしくお願いいたします」
