What does “давай” mean in Russian?

Давай is the imperative of давать, “to give,” and it can still mean just that: давай сюда, “give it here.” It has also developed several very common conversational uses. Repeated fast, давай-давай! is “come on, come on!” Before a verb it means “let’s”: давай пойдём, “let’s go.” As a reply it’s “OK, sure,” and at the end of a phone call давай! is “bye.”

For a group or a stranger it becomes давайте, and the clip has both: давайте, помогайте. Tone carries the meaning, so the same word can be encouragement, agreement or a quick goodbye. Here Mikki the dog pulls off a child’s hat and socks to cheers of давай-давай-давай... молодец!