давай, давай, давай
davay, davay, davay
The English phrase 'go, go, go' can be translated into Russian as давай, давай, давай (davay, davay, davay).
This phrase is an urgent command used to tell someone to move faster or to start an action immediately. Repeating the word three times increases the sense of urgency or provides rhythmic encouragement, similar to how it functions in English.
What does it mean word for word?
The word давай literally means 'give' (the imperative form of 'давать'), but in this specific context, it functions as an exhortation to act.
Which one should you use?
While давай, давай, давай is the common way to express this urgency, you can also use иди, иди, иди for informal situations or идите, идите, идите for formal situations.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
давай, давай, давай is highly informal and is used among friends, teammates or in high-pressure situations. It would be inappropriate in a formal professional setting.
How do you pronounce it?
davay, davay, davay
Did you know?
- In certain informal Russian slang contexts, давай can act as a way to say 'goodbye' or 'let's go' when ending a phone call or a meeting.
- Depending on the intonation, давай can be used to express skepticism or a challenge, effectively meaning 'go on then' or 'I dare you'.
- In Russian, давай can function as a linguistic 'placeholder' to agree to a proposal, similar to how 'let's' works in English phrases like 'let's do it'.
Examples in context
- Го, иди, иди уже!Let's go, go, go already!
- Пошёл, пошёл, пошёл за мячом!Go, go, go get the ball!
- Давай, давай, давай, быстрее!Davay, davay, davay, bystree!Go, go, go, faster!
- Давай, давай, давай, начинай работу.Davay, davay, davay, nachinay rabotu.Go, go, go, start the work.
- Давай, давай, давай, беги!Davay, davay, davay, begi!Go, go, go, run!
Example conversation
Alexander is urging Anastasia to finish her work so they can leave.
- Александр AleksandrДавай, давай, давай, собирайся скорее!Davay, davay, davay, sobiraysya skoreye!Go, go, go, get ready quickly!
- Анастасия AnastasiaЯ почти закончила, подожди минуту.Ya pochti zakonchila, podozhdi minutu.I'm almost finished, wait a minute.
- Александр AleksandrУ нас нет времени, пошли!U nas net vremeni, poshli!We don't have time, let's go!
- Анастасия AnastasiaХорошо, Анастасия готова!Khorosho, Anastasiya gotova!Okay, Anastasia is ready!
