Shorthand for asking how someone is doing.
How to use it
Friendly opener, often paired with a greeting: “heyy hru”.
Examples
- heyy hru?
- im good hbu
Chat slang
What does HRU mean?
HRU
stands for “How Are You?”
Stranger: heyy hru
You: pretty good! just got home from work. hbu?
Stranger: tired but alive lol
You: long day? whats been keeping you busy
Where it comes from
Shorthand for “how are you?” from the early days of text messaging, when phone keypads made every extra letter slow to type.
Is it friendly or rude?
Warm and polite. Most of the time it is small talk rather than a real question, so a short answer plus “hbu?” is exactly what is expected.
Spellings and variations
“hru?”, “how r u”, “hru doing” and the extra-friendly “heyyy hruuu” all mean the same thing. “hbu” (how about you?) is the standard way to return it, and “wbu” works too. “hyd” (how you doing?) is a close cousin.
Common mistakes
Replying “good” with nothing after it gives the other person nothing to work with. The opposite mistake is answering a quick HRU from a stranger with a long account of a hard week in your very first message; save that for once the chat has warmed up. And if someone answers “not great tbh”, do not skip past it with “cool, wyd”.
How to reply to “hru”
- “good, bit tired — hbu?” Answering and returning it is the whole move.
- Be specific for a better conversation: “decent! just finished a long shift”.
- Honest is fine too: “kind of a rough day tbh”.
Questions about HRU
How do you reply to hru?
Give a short answer and return the question: “good, bit tired, hbu?” If you want the chat to go somewhere, add one detail about your day.
Is hru the same as hbu?
No. HRU (“how are you?”) starts the exchange; HBU (“how about you?”) returns it after you have answered.
Related slang
More in Chat Slang Decoded and random chat etiquette.
Try it: use “hru” on a real stranger
heyy hru?
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