Tú or usted: two ways to say you

Two words for you

Spanish has two ways to address one person. Tú is for friends, family, children and people your own age. Usted is for strangers, older people, shop staff and officials – anyone you would call señor or señora. The choice matters, because the verb changes with it: with usted you use the same form as for él and ella.

The pattern is always the same: te becomes se, estás becomes está, eres becomes es. Unlike tú, the word usted is often kept in the sentence – ¿Cómo está usted? – because saying it is part of the politeness.

In Spain tú is the default: people switch to it quickly, and usted is reserved for clearly older strangers and formal settings. In much of Latin America usted is heard far more – in Colombia or Costa Rica even between friends – and in Argentina and Uruguay you will hear vos instead of tú. Talking to several people, Spain splits again: vosotros for friends, ustedes for polite address. Latin America uses ustedes for everyone.

–Buenos días, señora. ¿Cómo está usted? –Muy bien, gracias.–Good morning, madam. How are you? –Very well, thank you.

The polite formulas: por favor, gracias, de nada, perdón, disculpe

Señor, señora and señorita go with usted. You use them alone – Gracias, señor – or before a surname: la señora García. Señorita is for a young woman, though many people today simply say señora to any adult. Disculpe is the usted form; to a friend you would say disculpa.

–Disculpe, señor. ¿Es usted el señor García? –Sí, soy yo.–Excuse me, sir. Are you Mr García? –Yes, that is me.