HRU stands for how are you (how r u). People write it at the start of a chat with friends, often with hey, and expect a short answer: good, wbu? A detailed life update usually isn't needed. It's for chats only: in a message to a teacher or colleague, write How are you? or I hope you're well, and out loud and in IELTS Speaking say how are you in full.
Could you drop hru into a text?
Write a short message — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
hey, hru?; hru + feeling/doing?; reply: good / not bad, wbu?
- hey hru? haven't seen you since the party on Saturday
- good thx, just busy with exams this week, hru?
- hru feeling today? heard you stayed home sick yesterday
What changed
First versionhey hru? — normal, wbu?
Revisionhey hru? — good, wbu?
Normal looks like a natural answer to how are you, but in English it means “ordinary, not strange”, so the reply sounds as if you're assuring the other person that you're not weird. To say things are fine, use good, fine or not bad. Only that word was changed.
Hru asks about someone's mood and how things are going, while wyd, what are you doing, asks what they're busy with right now. You answer hru with good or not great, and wyd with an activity: just cooking dinner. If you really want to know how someone is after a hard week, write it in full: How are you feeling after everything?
Your turn
A: hey, ___? B: good, just a bit tired after work, wbu?
Show the answer
hru — B replies good, just a bit tired, which is an answer about how they feel, so A asked hru. Wyd means what are you doing?, and the answer would be an activity, such as just watching TV.
Write a message to a friend you haven't talked to for a while: ask hru and mention when you last saw each other.
hey, hru? we haven't talked since your birthday party in May!
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.