Китайка нашла шапку Малыша

What does “на, держи” mean in Russian?

When you hand something to someone in Russian, you say на! or на, держи, “here, take it.” This на is not the preposition “on”: it’s a separate little word meaning “here you go,” used with people you’d call ты. Держи means “hold” or “take it.” To someone you call вы, the forms are нате or simply возьмите, пожалуйста.

На is informal and direct, so it can sound abrupt to a stranger; with a friend or a child it’s perfectly warm. Держи also stands alone: держи! as you toss keys. In the cartoon the heroine returns a lost hat: Малыш, я твою шапку нашла. На, держи.