дарова

«Дарова» is an informal Russian greeting, roughly equivalent to “Hey!”, “Hi!”, or sometimes “What’s up?” in English.

• It is a casual, colloquial shortened form of «здорово» (zdorovo), used as a greeting.
• Use it with friends, classmates, or peers—not in formal settings, with strangers, or in professional communication.
• A similar Russian slang greeting is «здрасьте» (a casual contraction of здравствуйте), though its tone can vary.
• The underlying expression is historically connected to Russian «здоровый», meaning “healthy”; traditional greetings often conveyed a wish for good health.

Examples:

1. “Дарова, как дела?” — “Hey, how are you?”
2. “Дарова! Давно не виделись.” — “Hi! Long time no see.”
3. “Дарова, ты сегодня свободен?” — “Hey, are you free today?”
4. “Он написал мне: «Дарова».” — “He texted me: ‘Hey.’”
5. “Дарова, народ!” — “Hey, everyone!”

Related English greetings: hey, hi, yo (very casual), what’s up? (casual).