How to Say “You” in Spanish

Ways to say it

These words are subject pronouns used to address the person or people you are speaking to.

Which one should you use?

Use tú or vos instead of usted when speaking to friends, family or people younger than you. In contrast, use usted instead of tú when showing respect to elders, superiors or strangers.

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

tú and vos are familiar and informal. usted is the polite, formal option.

Is it said differently in some regions?

vos is an informal pronoun used in specific regions, particularly Argentina and Uruguay. In some regions of Central America, tú vives can be expressed as vos vivís. In Spain, vosotros is an informal pronoun used to address a group of people, whereas in Latin America, the plural 'you' is always ustedes.

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?

The verb conjugation for 'tú' in the present tense usually ends in -as. In Spain, tú hablas is commonly used to mean 'you speak'. When using vos, the verb endings change, such as vos estudiás in Argentina instead of tú estudias, vos hablás in Latin America, vos comés in Argentina instead of tú comes or vos vivís in some regions of Central America. The form tú eres means 'you are' in the singular form. While the singular forms vary by formality, the plural 'you' is always ustedes in Latin America, whereas in Spain, vosotros is used for informal groups.

How do you pronounce it?

/ˈtu/

What mistakes should you avoid?

English speakers often confuse the subject pronoun tú with the possessive adjective tu (your). Tú has an accent mark, tu does not.