How to Say “You” in Spanish

Ways to say it

The Spanish language uses different words for the subject pronoun "you" based on the social relationship between the speaker and the listener. You can use these pronouns to address an individual or to refer to the person or group being spoken to.

Which one should you use?

tú is used for friends, family and peers. usted is used to show respect or to maintain social distance when speaking to strangers, elders or superiors. vos is a familiar alternative to tú used in specific regions.

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

tú is the informal and familiar form. usted is the polite and formal form. The verbs ustedear and vosear refer to the act of addressing someone using the formal usted or the familiar vos respectively.

Is it said differently in some regions?

To address a group of people, speakers in Spain typically use vosotros for informal situations, whereas in Latin American countries, ustedes is more commonly used to address a group.

Related words

The individual or group spoken/written to (det): tú, vos, usted.

To address using the more formal second-person pronoun (verb): ustedear, vosear.

How does it change in a sentence?

tú is used with second-person singular verb conjugations, such as tú eres. usted is used with third-person singular verb conjugations, such as usted es. When using vos, the verb conjugations often change, for example, tú tienes becomes vos tenés.

How do you pronounce it?

/ˈtu/

What mistakes should you avoid?

Do not confuse the subject pronoun tú (you) with the possessive adjective tu (your).