¿eres tú?
The Spanish phrase for "is that you?" is ¿eres tú?
This phrase is used as a question to ask if the person being addressed is the one the speaker thinks they are. You might use the informal ¿Eres tú quien está ahí? to ask "Is it you who's there?" or add Oye to the start to say "Hey, is that you?" for a friendlier tone.
Which one should you use?
While ¿eres tú? asks if a specific person is present, ¿quién es? is used when you hear a sound or a voice and want to know the identity of the person.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Argentina and Uruguay, ¿Sos vos? is a common informal way to ask "Is that you?"
How does it change in a sentence?
Use ¿es usted? instead of ¿eres tú? when addressing someone you do not know well or someone to whom you want to show respect.
Did you know?
- The word eres is a linguistic fossil from the Latin future tense, specifically the form eris, which survived into modern Spanish while other forms of the verb 'to be' changed.
- The use of ¿sos vos? in Argentina and Uruguay is a linguistic remnant of 'voseo', a system of pronouns that was once common across much of the Spanish-speaking world.
Examples in context
- Oigo pasos, ¿eres tú?I hear footsteps, is that you?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries eres, tú, CC BY-SA 4.0.
