下さい
ください · kudasai · JLPT N5 · expression
(with te-form verb) please do for me
🙏 下さい = 下 (down) + さい: hand it down to me, please
From 下さる, the honorific verb for a superior giving downward to you. After a te-form verb it turns the action into a polite request: 待って下さい = wait, please. Sound hook: kudasai ~ could-a-sigh, a polite sigh of asking.
下 — horizontal line 一 + mark below
下 is an indicative character: a long horizontal line represents a reference level, and a shorter stroke placed beneath it points to the area below. The original meaning 'below, down' comes directly from this spatial diagram, and it later extended to verbs like 'descend' and 'lower'.