ד״ש
dash
Regards (acronym of "drishat shalom").
What does it literally mean — and what do Israelis actually mean?
What it literally means
Literal: "request of peace."
ד״ש להורי — מקווים שהכל בסדר אצלכם.Dash la-horim — mekavim she-ha-kol be-seder etzleichem.Regards to my parents — hope all's well with you.
What Israelis actually mean
"regards / say hi."
תעבירי ד״ש חם לדנה כשאת רואה אותה.Ta'avari dash cham le-Dana kshe-at ro'a ota.Give Dana warm regards when you see her.
Where did this word come from?
Standard Hebrew acronymics: דרישת שלום appears in rabbinic letters as a closing greeting (medieval-rabbinic epistolography); clipped in modern usage to the acronym ד״ש, pronounced "dash" — used in letters, texts, and speech ("timsher dash la-mishpacha" — send regards to the family). The acronym expansion is standard in dictionaries.
Register & social context
Casual, warm; letters, texts, and speech. In texting, ד״ש is as standard as "BR" (best regards) — pronounce the letters as one syllable, never "dalet-shin."
Root & morphology
Acronym of דרישת שלום (drishat shalom, "requesting/greeting of peace") — the formal epistolary "regards."
Influences & contact languages
- Hebrew (עברית, Ivrit)Hebrew acronym of drishat shalom — medieval-rabbinic letter formulas clipped to ד״ש.
Which places are associated with this word?
This word travels through people, not places — so we don't pin it.
See where it lives in the language constellationHear it in the wild
ד״ש להורי — מקווים שהכל בסדר אצלכם.
Dash la-horim — mekavim she-ha-kol be-seder etzleichem.
Regards to my parents — hope all's well with you.
תעבירי ד״ש חם לדנה כשאת רואה אותה.
Ta'avari dash cham le-Dana kshe-at ro'a ota.
Give Dana warm regards when you see her.
What English speakers get wrong
It's not the English word "dash"; and in texting, ד״ש is as standard as "BR" — pronounce the letters as one syllable, never "dalet-shin."
What lives next to this word?
Sources & review
Want to use this word? Understand it inside a full sentence — Open Baba →