When and How to Use Usted in Spanish [Tú vs Usted / Informal vs Formal]
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- čas přidán 20. 12. 2017
- Spanish speakers use tú and usted, to express formality. Both words mean “you.” However, Tú is less formal than usted. Use tú when you're talking to someone of the same age, the same rank, or the same educational level as you. Use usted for everyone else.
Still confused about when to use the "Usted" form in Spanish? In this video, we'll teach you everything you need to know about how and when to use the formal "Usted" form.
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I don´t know in other countries but here is Spain, we mostly use the informal you "tú" for everyone in exception of teachers and the eldest people you don´t know (just for being respectful)
Nowadays people mostly refer to their grandparents with "tú" not with "usted" and we use TÚ for almost everyone.
My grandmother is from Colombia, but she address everybody and all ages with usted. She never says tu. Idk why.
may be due to respect.
am stuck with tu
In most of Colombia people only speak formally, it is part of their dialect
i think it's because she's an elder. it's common in hispanic-american countries (idk the rest of the spanish speaking countries) that elders use "usted" with everyone, the why it's probably because years ago, the "usted" was waaaay more used since everyone was more formal? so, they got raised like that.
In Colombia, some people just don't use tú at all, it's just a variation in dialect
Usted versus tu (sorry I don't know how to put accent on this keyboard) is definitely something I feel I did not get everyone practice in in Spanish classes. I feel like most of the time, we just defaulted to using 'tu'. Now, I'm in an environment where I sometimes have to speak Spanish and I'm really wishing I got more of a hang of saying "usted" than thinking "tu" = "you" 100% of the time.
Usted is confusing
Thank you I needed this to complete my work for Spanish🙏🏾
Wow thank you so much for this video I have been trying to learn Spanish and have been learning/using tú exclusively. So when I saw usted it really threw me for a loop.
im learning german and this helped
Yes its the same for me
Thank u for your things for saying tu and usted I appreciate you all to say those two things respectfully
I am not a native Spanish speaker but I live in Colombia and I found it funny how people are switching from Usted to tú back and forth. For instance, in a shop or restaurant, you will definitely start addressing the clerk or waiter with Usted. But you may end up asking for the bill saying "me traes la cuenta por favor". In a family, parents will use Tu with their kids, but if they want to say something more seriously, be it complaining, arguying, or giving a piece of advice, they may switch to Usted. Some kids say Usted to their parents, some say Tú but even in the latter case, kids will switch to Usted when they want to ask for permission. In the street, you will definitely use Usted to answer to a beggar. Usted is mostly used to show respect, but it can also be used to add up a little bit of distance. It is a very subbtle thing and it took me quite a time to use it adequately. Plus in Colombia, at least in some regions, you can add up to the complexity throwing in the "Vos"form.
Colombians use formal for everything. So they are not a good example.
Lmaoo. A beggar.
_🤭_
That was so good thanks a ton for posting this video
I’m from Mexico but we normally use the tu form even with family members older. I find it hard to speak with my Ecuadorian side of the family because it’s different ways of talking.
Cool! May is actually from Mexico, and we recorded this video in Colima, Mexico. Un saludo. -Jim
The thing I can't stand is I saw ppl use it in different parts of the same sentence. It's so annoying.
Thank you this really helped me👍🏽
I speak Spanish from Argentina and I find it very archaic and old-fashioned to address a parent with "Usted". It used to be common 50 or 100 years ago but nowadays it is not used, you just simply use "tú" or "vos".
Hardly ever will you find a Spanish-Speaker (at least in the south) addressing a parent with Usted.
For instance, in my country we do not use tú, instead we say "vos" as informal which replaces tú.
Vos - Tú= You (singular informal)
Usted= You (singular formal).
Vosotros= You (plural informal *only in Spain*)
Ustedes= You (plural informal-formal)
No. Vos is used in many countries but they understand tu and vos is almost always conjugated the same
@debunker300 Vos is mainly used in Argentina and nearby countries, such as Uruguay and Paraguay, but not much in other Southamerican countries, The problem with using "Vos" is that they change other words as well. In your example: they would NOT say "Vos TIENES una pluma". Instead, they would say: "Vos tenés una pluma".
I agree completely I’m Mexican and I use The Tu form not usted form it’s hard for me to speak in that form because my parents didn’t teach me in that way.
@@juliopolina That's right, but Spanish speakers still understand it perfectly.
Che sho también soy de argentina 🇦🇷 y sho amo a nuestro casteshano che
Increíble forma de explicar su uso me agrada como graban 😉
Hola , Cuando pueda , porfavor may i request for a video about pure Formal Spanish only video for Office situations or Job application set up. muchas Gracias !!!
That was helpful. When do you use the word tienes and tiene?
Súper útil! Me encantó el vídeo, me estaba costando mucho trabajo explicarle el tú y usted a mi novio! Le está echando muchas ganas a sus lecciones de español y su vídeo lo ayudó mucho a comprender! Muchas gracias!!
1235 - 237890 = 1143
Hola. Buen video. Soy de Argentina y uso el usted como lo dijeron ustedes en su vídeo. En vez de tú, uso vos. A menos que la persona tenga mi edad, cerca o menos, trato a todos de usted y en lugares públicos, al principio prefiero decir usted y luego veo si me paso al vos, a menos que sea joven y de entrada él/ella me diga vos. Si tuviera suegros obviamente les diría usted. Y a los familiares siempre les digo vos. Saludos.
The best youtube spanish. Congratulations!
Jesiel Martins Coelho ¡Muchas gracias! 🙏🏻 Thanks for watching. We appreciate your support! Un saludo desde Puerto Rico. -Jim
I am going to use this video with my students. Thank you.
Can i be ur student ??
Hi does anyone know if I use the formal term when I am a visitor at a hotel talking to nice housekeepers, friendly taxi cab drivers, hotel staff ext...?
If they’re obviously older than you, use formal speech. If they seem to be around the same age or younger, you can use informal speech. I hope that helps. Thanks for watching! -Jim
wow i had no idea i have been using tú instead of usted in everything noooooo thank you so much for telling us :)
No big deal, specially if you have an accent.
Now! I appreciate this video mucho!!! Muchas gracias!! :-))
¡De nada! You might also like this one: czcams.com/video/ldcTmCedw98/video.html
Thanks for watching! -Jim
Do u have a ser estoy vid?
So I have a question…if I wanted to practice Spanish with a stranger, would the usted form be used in question? For example, would I say “Puedo practicar español con usted?” Or, would i say “Puedo practicar español contigo?” Is contigo informal?
Thank you. It is similar to German. We also have two forms: Sie and du. And it is used in a similar way.
Danke schön. Thanks for watching! Ich spreche ein bisschen Deuche. ¡Saludos desde México! -Jim
Same goes with Czech as we have 'ty' or 'vy'. The only difference is that we speak to all family members in informal way
Italian have Lei which it's formal way
Do you have a video on the subjunctive form of verbs ?
Thanks for the comment Coco! We don't yet, but it's on the list. We do our best to try not to focus on grammar so much as contextual situations, so we've been planning a fun one for the subjunctive. Thanks for watching!
Muy buen video, muy informativo. Lo de “usted” es algo muy curioso, en el caso de mi familia mi hermano mayor y yo llamamos por “usted” a mi mama pero mi hermana menor la tutea y aveces me pongo a pensar y debe ser porque es la menor y es mujer y ademas es quien pasa mas tiempo con ella, al menos yo nunca me he sentido comodo en tutear a mi mama aunque ella nunca nos ha exigido que la llamemos de usted, aun asi tutearla me hace sentir como si le estuviera faltando el respeto.
Me gusta mucho el contenido de su canal, ya me suscribi y espero que sigan creciendo mucho, saludos desde Carolina del Norte 👍
¡Hola, Josh!
Muchas gracias por tu comentario. 😊
Así es, tutear a alguien yo creo que tiene mucho que ver con la confianza que creas con esa persona y el tiempo que pasan juntos. Tu hermana se ha ganado la confianza de tu mamá y por eso se siente más cómoda hablándole de "tú" que de "usted". Qué interesantes son las costumbres familiares de los Mexicanos y latinos, ¿no?
Te mandamos un saludo desde las frías y lejanas tierras de Minnesota. ¡Muchas gracias!
Okay, I understand this. But unfortunately, I don't know where to put the "usted" in the sentence always and was hoping this video would clear that up. Do you have any advice?
Me inscribí porque quiero aprender ingles.
Great video & I'm a constant listener to your podcast (at 70% speed - I'm only 90 days in) - thanks so much for those!
Now. On USTED - In a DuolLngo forum someone said "... ustedes is the only plural you in Latin America. It carries no formality." - and I can't reconcile that with your video here. Are they just wrong?
Hi, Chris! Thanks for your support. Great question.
The person from the Duolingo forum is correct. Since this video is mostly about _tú vs usted_ (formal you vs informal you), we didn't talk much about _ustedes,_ which is the plural you for Latin America, regardless of formality.
So, you'll use _usted_ as a show of respect towards one person, and _ustedes_ to talk to any group of people, regardless of formality. Does that help clear things up? Thanks for watching! -Jim
@@SpanishandGo Oh, it DOES. I simply didn't notice that USTED and USTEDES are not the same. HAHAHA. I have a degree. gulp. What an idiot I am. Sorry guys - kill me now.
@@chriswesley594 No worries! It's easy to miss. Glad we could help! -Jim
Muchas gracias por este video. Estoy más familiar con la firma de "tu" porque esta es la forma uso con mi tutor y mis amigas de España y Perú pero en México noté que "usted" es común. ¿Cuál es el significado de la frase "pueden tutearnos"? ¿"Can you please us" es igual a "por favor usa la forma de tu"?
¡Hola, Tobi! "Puedes tutearme" es la forma más común en México para pedirle a alguien que use la forma informal de hablar.
Sí usted quiere decirle a alguién que está bien usar el "tú" para comunicarse con usted, puede decir "hablame de tú, por favor".
En Inglés sería como "Address me by "tú", please" or "Talk to me in the informal way of "you", please."
¡Gracias por vernos! -Jim & May
We use tú informally with same age, with siblings and with younger people while we use usted formally when need to show respect and with strangers or when in doubt. Is that correct?
¿Puede usted ayudarme?
Así es. Buen trabajo. 👏🏻
As an older person (age 67), can I assume that 'tu' is the way to go even with waiters and other general interactions with sales people, etc? I would defer to 'usted' if the individual is clearly older than I am, but in general...???
Hi, Maria! That’s right. You can probably use the informal “tú” in most cases. Thanks for watching! -Jim
@@SpanishandGo What is the most polite wait to address waiters, maids, sales people, hotel staff ext...? Is it usted form out of respect?
@@poisxe
It depends, if the waiter or waitress is young they can use TU, but if they are older than you, USTED can still be used.
@@poisxe si quieres ser una persona respetuosa el "Usted" es bienvenido al 100% , si estas en un restaurante y se acerca una mesera aunque ella sea mas joven que tu incluso demasiado joven si quieres verte como una persona respetuosa usarias el "Usted" principalmente porque es alguien que no conoces, pero hablarle de "Tu" también esta bien siempre y cuando esta persona sea mas joven que tu ..
Now i know what is informal & formal 😁👍
Great! Thanks for watching! 😊 -Jim
Spanish and Go you welcome jim
I didn't know how to use it exactly😁 BTW thanxs for this video Yeees finally 😁😁👍👍👍I LOVE SPANISH❤️
Nueve comentarios????????? Wow. Anyway, I learned a lot from this so Gracias
Editar: Diez comentarios ahora
¡Hola!
Glad to hear you found our video useful. :)
Thanks for watching and commenting!
(Once ahora :p )
If you think back about 40 years in the US, it was common for kids to ALWAYS address adults by Mr and Mrs. Also you would address your boss, landlord, or anyone you didn’t know by Mr or Mrs. (I actually like that better than todays informality - when telemarketers or other strangers call me by my first name my first thought is always “who are you to call me by my first name”)
But anyway, if you remember those days, that’s a good way to think of how to use Usted vs Tú. A “Mr or Mrs” would be Usted, a first name basis would be tú
Es dificil aprender ingles? En ingles tienen las palabaras como two, to y 2.
Too también. En hablar es el mismo pero en escribir es 3 differente formas. 2 y two es el número dos. Too es también. To es a. No mucho dificil
you guys are such a cute couple
She’s so prettyyyyyyy
Hola
What about a medical professional addressing a patient? Does the same rules apply? I find myself using usted to almost everyone except small children.
I'm young, so doctors are informal to me. But with older people they're formal (or they should).
Is it okay if I say usted with everyone ? 😂 I always use usted, even with siblings and close friends. I sort of got used to it
It's not wrong to say it, it's just formal. Like calling your brother sir
@@mb3775 Oohh okay, thank youu 😆
I feel old when someone calls be used
Decirles "Usted" a todo mundo no esta mal , es solo la manera formal, incluso te hace ver como una persona muy respetuosa, pero decirle "usted" a tu hermano/a o a un amigo muy cercano es muy raro, incluso un amigo se puede reir y burlarse de la forma en que le hablas
It sounds weird, it's like calling your mates Mr or Mrs
es dificil asta para el hispanop hablante
Che sho soy de Argentina 🇦🇷 y sho hablo en Vos como en mi casteshano
The use of "usted" may vary from country to country, or even regions within a country. Please, if you're a non-native Spanish speaker, use "usted" to address ANYONE (unless they're children or teens) you meet for the first time. It makes you come across as polite, and well-mannered. I personally hate being addressed with "tú" by strangers. In my head, I'm like "I don't know you like that", but again, that's something cultural.
I think in America "usted" is used a lot, but in Spain it's quite an uncommon and formal thing. I personally only use it for complete strangers or people I *really* need to give a good impression to. Otherwise, 90% of the times you say "usted" in Spain you're going to get "¡Tutéame, por dios!" as a response; it's an unnecessary formalism.
¡Hola, Diego! Yes, the use of "usted" varies from country to country. It's usually better to play it safe when talking to someone you don't know. Thanks for watching! -Jim
En Argentina no se usa tú pero vos. ¿Es verdad?
Así es. Pero no hablamos sobre eso tanto para no confundir a la gente. En general, "tú" se entiende, y eso es lo importante. Si quieres vivir en o aprender el español de Argentina, pues sí, es importante entender y usar "vos" como ellos. ¡Gracias por vernos! -Jim
Is it respectful to assume that someone is older? Might be insulting instead if they think they are younger than you.
Using _usted_ doesn't necessarily imply that you think the other person is older than you. It's also a sign of respect. It's better to play it safe with strangers and err on the side of being overly respectful. Thanks for watching! -Jim
Yes some people get offended if you don’t talk to them with Usted. One time when I was little and in school my sister accidentally addressed my teacher with TU. The teacher got extremely mad, yelled at my sister, and told her to leave.
lol y pensar que hablo todos los dias y lo doy por sentado como si nada
Who else her for the zuñiga hw :)
No, there are at least 4 you forms: Usted, tu, vos, & vuestra merced. & I am sure that the use varies a lot by the country you are in. If you are not a native of a country, best to stick to Usted in the singular to avoid offense. It seems to me that in telenovelas you are likely to hear vos when narcotrafficers are speaking.
Geezle Puss "vuestra merced" was used for the last time in the 19th century! It's a *very* old way of addressing people. Maybe you've read it in books, but in current Spanish it's not used at all.
@@diegopozas1694 In Colombia, "Vuestra merced" is used in Cundinamarca/Boyacá departments but in the form of "Su mercé".
Came here from NARCOS comment "y que, y que, y que que, y que usted".....but still don't got the joke
I don't understand why...
For say hablar...
You all, plural familiar...vosotros/as hablais
They, plural familiar...hablan
Ustedes, you all formal...hablan
Why not...ustedes, you all formal hablais
Tu for same social status? I think you guys are wrong in this.
great video. My brother your hair and beard are not doing your face any favors.
with elders ok, but higher social status? wtf? you have a serf mentality. once a peon always a peon