TÚ, USTED, VOSOTROS, USTEDES – How to say YOU in Spanish correctly

7 min video

Spanish has several ways to say “you,” depending on who you are speaking to and where. This lesson compares tú, usted, vosotros, and ustedes.

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Try it yourself

Imagine speaking to a friend, a stranger, and a group. Choose the form you would use in each case and make one short sentence for each.

Watch the original lesson on YouTube.

Edited lesson transcript and examples

Read the complete substantive lesson in its original order. The English explanation is edited from the published automatic English captions, with all Spanish models checked against the original on-screen examples. Punctuation and caption errors are repaired for reading; contextual English translations and labelled learner notes are additions. The instructor’s recommendations, humor, practice, Study Guide reminder and next-video recommendation are retained. This is an edited caption-based transcript, not a pronunciation assessment. Music is omitted.

The timestamp chapters link to the original video. Their start times are approximate.

• 0:00 — Five forms of “you”
• 0:21 — Tú, vos and usted
• 1:16 — Why the verb changes with usted
• 2:27 — ¿La ayudo? versus ¿Te ayudo?
• 3:55 — An invitation to use tú
• 4:34 — Vosotros and ustedes
• 5:43 — A bad-cop example
• 6:05 — Recap and practice questions

0:00 — Five forms of “you”

Tú, usted, vos, vosotros, ustedes. They all mean “you.” But what’s the difference? And more importantly, what happens if you get it wrong? Could you accidentally sound rude? Will people think you’re too formal, or worse, too informal? Stay till the end and you’ll never mix them up again.

0:21 — Tú, vos and usted

In Spanish, these words all mean “you,” but they are used in different contexts. Tú and vos are both informal singular forms. Tú is the standard choice in most Spanish-speaking countries, while vos is common in Argentina and Uruguay. In other countries we understand vos, but we will never use it. In Spain, for “you” singular, we just say tú or usted.

Learner note — Where vos is used: The “other countries” and “only Argentina and Uruguay” statements are too broad. Vos is also used in many other American varieties, including parts of Central America. This lesson focuses on Lucía’s usage in Spain; keep that focus without treating other regional choices as errors. Source: RAE: voseo.

Tú tienes el poder para salvar el mundo.
Example translation: You have the power to save the world.

On the other hand, usted is the formal singular form of “you.” We use it in situations that require respect, like professional settings, when addressing elderly people or someone of higher rank, or simply when speaking to a stranger politely. Example:

¿Qué estaba haciendo usted la noche del crimen?
Example translation: What were you doing on the night of the crime?

1:16 — Why the verb changes with usted

Have you noticed the big difference between tú and usted? Both mean “you,” but verbs are conjugated differently for each. With tú, verbs take the second-person singular form. Logical, right? Simple. Cool. But with usted, verbs use the third-person singular form, the same as él or ella. I know it’s weird, but I didn’t make the rules. Don’t look at me. Okay, let’s take a closer look.

Tú tienes el poder para salvar el mundo.
Example translation: You have the power to save the world.

Tienes is the second-person singular form of tener, “to have.” But if we switch to usted, the sentence changes:

Usted tiene el poder para salvar el mundo.
Example translation: You have the power to save the world.

Wait, what’s happening here? Second person changed to third person.

Yo tengo. / Tú tienes. / Él, ella, usted tiene.
Example translation: I have. / You have. / He/she has; formal you have.

Usted is grammatically second person, but it takes third-person verb endings. Laws of the Royal Spanish Academy! Why?

Learner note — Reference and grammatical person: Usted refers to the person being addressed, a second-person participant. Grammatically, however, it is third person, and its verb agrees in third person. The lesson’s tener contrast is correct; the phrase “grammatically second person” should be understood as referring to the addressee, rather than grammatical agreement. Source: RAE: usted.

2:27 — ¿La ayudo? versus ¿Te ayudo?

I think you’re ready for another sentence. If you see an elderly woman with a cane trying to cross the street, you might say:

¿La ayudo a cruzar la calle?
Example translation: Can I help you cross the street?

Is the same thing happening here? Yes, but not with the verb. The subject pronoun in this sentence is yo, “I,” and it is implicit, because ayudo already shows it’s in the first person.

yo / ayudo
Example translation: I / I help

For clarification: okay, you can do this. Let’s break it down. How do we know we are using usted here? La is the direct-object pronoun referring to the person being helped: either usted or a third-person female. In this context, we know I’m using usted. If I used tú here, the sentence would be:

¿Te ayudo a cruzar la calle?
Example translation: Shall I help you cross the street?

¿La ayudo, a usted? / ¿Te ayudo, a ti?
Example translation: Can I help you? — with usted / Can I help you? — with tú

Learner note — The pronoun contrast: The standard spelling is a ti, without an accent; the graphic’s a tí is repaired here. La is correct for the woman in this example. Ayudar also has a regional construction with le as an indirect object, so this illustration does not make every le ayudo incorrect. Source: RAE: ti, RAE: ayudar.

Do you see the pattern? Is it clear? If this finally makes sense, hit the like button. If not, blame the Royal Spanish Academy, not me. And if you’re struggling to understand, it might be time to download our free Study Guide. It’s designed to help you step by step as you learn Spanish on your own. You’ll find the link in the description, or scan this QR code.

3:55 — An invitation to use tú

So, we’ve got tú and usted all figured out. Or do we? Sometimes that elderly man or woman might say:

No me trates de usted.
Example translation: Don’t address me so formally.

And then you might hear a word that’s completely untranslatable:

Tutéame.
Example translation: Address me as tú.

This is the imperative form of tutear, which means to address someone using tú instead of usted. It’s like they’re giving you permission to be less formal. Well, not permission—it’s more like an order: “Don’t be that formal to me.” What situations can you think of where you’d use usted instead of tú, and vice versa? Let me know in the comments.

4:34 — Vosotros and ustedes

Now, let’s move on to plural pronouns. In Spain, vosotros is the informal way to say “you all” in the plural, while ustedes is reserved for formal situations. Ustedes is also “you all,” but formal. But in Latin America, vosotros isn’t used at all; ustedes is the go-to word for both formal and informal settings. Since I’m from Spain, I’ll focus on how we use them here.

Learner note — The regional scope: This contrast describes most of Spain. In the Canary Islands and western Andalusia, ustedes is also used informally. Across Spanish America, ustedes is the usual plural form for both levels of formality. Choose according to the people and region, as the instructor recommends. Source: RAE: vosotros.

For example, in an informal setting, you’d say:

¿Cómo estáis vosotros? / ¿Cómo estáis?
Example translation: How are you all? / How are you all?

We omit the pronouns a lot, you know. But in a formal setting, you’d say:

¿Cómo están ustedes?
Example translation: How are you all?

And just like with tú and usted, vosotros and ustedes also have different verb conjugations. Let’s try with saber, “to know.” The complete present tense goes like this:

Yo sé. / Tú sabes. / Usted sabe. / Él, ella sabe. / Nosotros sabemos. / Vosotros sabéis. / Ustedes saben. / Ellos, ellas saben.
Example translation: I know. / You know. / You know (usted). / He or she knows. / We know. / You all know (vosotros). / You all know (ustedes). / They know.

5:43 — A bad-cop example

Check this out. With vosotros:

Vosotros sabéis lo que ha ocurrido aquí, y vais a decírnoslo.
Example translation: You know what happened here, and you’re going to tell us.

With ustedes:

Ustedes saben lo que ha ocurrido aquí, y van a decírnoslo.
Example translation: You know what happened here, and you’re going to tell us.

I feel like vosotros is more appropriate if I wanted to go with a bad-cop vibe.

6:05 — Recap and practice questions

Let’s do a quick recap of all the words we learned today. Tú: informal singular “you,” widely used in Spanish-speaking countries, especially in Spain, where we speak more informally. Vos: informal singular “you,” only used in Argentina and Uruguay over there. Usted: the formal singular form. Vosotros: informal “you all,” only used in Spain. Ustedes: formal “you all” in Spain, and both formal and informal in other Hispanic countries.

Learner note — Read the recap with the regional qualifications: Vos is not restricted to Argentina and Uruguay. The vosotros/ustedes contrast applies to most of Spain, with the exceptions noted above. Vosotros also occurs in Equatorial Guinea, so “only Spain” is a simplified map rather than a worldwide exclusion. Usted is generally the formal option in this lesson; actual familiarity and formality vary locally, so context matters. Source: AEGLE academic: Spanish in Equatorial Guinea.

Getting this right is key to sounding natural in Spanish. But don’t stress too much: context and region play a huge role. Now, would you say tú or usted to a doctor? What about an elderly person, a coworker or a friend? Let me know in the comments. And if you want to know what real Spanish people have to say about this topic, watch this video here, in which I ask Spaniards on the street about when they use tú and usted. This is a must-watch. And let me know in the comments what you want to learn next.

¡Hasta pronto!
Example translation: See you soon!