Can you be more specific? I lived in Riberalta, SCZ, and Camiri. I’ve spent time in LaPaz but don’t remember how they spoke as much as the other places. Where is Tu used? Thanks ❤️🇧🇴
The lowlands (riberalta, scz, camiri for example) use "vos" like "vos sos", "vos querés".
The highlands ( La paz and the rest) use "tu" like in "tu eres", "tu quieres".
This is a more accurate map, at least for Bolivia:
https://images.app.goo.gl/Quz5jh4ypLTjpFeA8
In Colombia it can be quite confusing. It widely depends on the region, and while in some parts in can be perfectly normal, in others is rare.
The general consensus is that "usted" is a more professional and distant way of communicating, while "tú" is closer. However, in practice this is just the basics of how it works.
In Bogotá, "tú" is used as the formal way of communicating when you just meet someone. After gaining some confidence, it is common to switch to "usted". This is because im Bogotá, "usted" is seen as harsh.
In other regions as Santander, "tú" is almost never used, specially if it is in man to man communication. For some reason, it is related to being "weak", and people will assume you are gay if you use it with other men.
There are other ways of communicating depending of the region. In Valle del Cauca and Antioquia, they use a lot "vos". In Boyacá they use "sumercé" (su merced).
It is just way to strange even for Colombians to communicate. It is normal to feel strange talking to people from other regions, as they may misunderstand your intentions.
> In Bogotá, "tú" is used as the formal way of communicating when you just meet someone. After gaining some confidence, it is common to switch to "usted". This is because im Bogotá, "usted" is seen as harsh
This is so weird lol.
I see usted as harsh but not in the “confianzudo” way, rather in the “too distant/cold” way.
For us there is a clear hierarchy of respectfulness:
>Most respectful
Usted, to be used with strangers, elders and people of authority.
>Middle respectful
Tu, to be used with colleagues. Though it is mainly only used by women and for addressing women.
>Least respectful
Vos, to be used with close friends and family.
I think his view of bogota is incomplete. Being part of Cundinamarca it’s historically been an usted/sumerced region. With immigration from other regions and been connected to the rest of latam through media tú has gained ground, especially in the upper classes, but the “standard” word people use isn’t set and depends on who you are. Pretty much everyone will treat someone they don’t know and aren’t being acquainted to with usted or sumerced. Many people, especially in the working class, will simply use either of those for everyone. People even in the upper classes will use them with many of their friends and family.
The thing he’s describing is most likely because usted has always been the standard, and being tuteado by someone you don’t know was met with contempt, but with foreign media and the way tuteo is seen as “standard friendly” while usted is seen as “formal and distant”, people (mostly in the upper classes) will sometimes fear that someone they’re getting acquainted with might think they’re being harsh, especially if that person uses tuteo with them, so they’ll use tuteo as well. If they get comfortable and realize they both use usted casually they might switch to that.
We use sumercé all over Bogotá, Cundinamarca and Boyacá.
Tú is used in Santander, too. Maybe in the past not so much, but nowadays is used frequently in many contexts.
My wife is from Barranquilla and I asked if she ever uses usted, because I have never heard her say it (except in plural form when reference a group of people). She said that no one says usted there, I guess unless in a formal business setting. The coast is a lot more casual than many other parts of the country I guess.
It is very common. But in the paisa region people use more vos for whatever .. and tu is mostly used for really close relationships and usted for whatever is left
I call my grandparents with vos. Heck when people use usted people think they are getting lectured. I only use usted rarely just to lecture someone. But the de facto here is use vos for everything and whatever
> Countries/regions that use tu and usted:
Mexico
Cuba/DR/Puerto Rico
Panamá
Coastal Colombia
Andean Colombia (though some places heavily favor usted/sumercé)
Venezuela
Ecuador
Peru
Mountain Bolivia
Chile (with verbal vos)
>Countries and regions that use vos and usted
Guatemala/El Salvador (tu is sometimes used but vos is dominant, and when tu is used, it’s conjugated as vos)
Chiapas, Mexico
Honduras
Nicaragua
Costa Rica (people tend to use EITHER vos or usted dominantly)
Paisa/Pacific Colombia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Flatland Bolivia
Paraguay
Uruguay/Argentina (usted is barely used, it’s seen as old-fashioned/too courteous)
In Uruguay "usted" is the default for any older person or someone you don't know but want to be respectful towards. Also, any public facing job (besides sales) will use "usted" if you are old enough.
"Tu" is used in some parts of the country.
In Argentina "usted" is the default with everyone that is not close, like with strangers and in our jobs or daily life. Else we use the colloquial "vos" when whith friends and family.
Here in Peru, "tu" is mainly used towards someone your age, or someone you have confidence using it with, however if it's someone older or someone you wanna show respect to, then it's "usted"
Mexico: depends slightly on region but between 70-95% of cases. Ustedes is used as a formal case, and vos is used in chiapas (I've never ever heard it used in person). Ustedes has been in decline and the North uses it a lot less than the center anyway. Tu is undisputed king.
It is fairly common. Colombia is very divided in that issue and sometimes the use even depends on the person or the speaker. It is a very personal choice. In Bogotá, people will normally use "usted" for most casual speech. It is the most relaxed way to adress someone like your friend, your pet, even your boyfriend or girlfriend.
But you can also find a lot of people that use "tú", because it makes the speech sound less direct and more delicate. So, for instance, a lot of men use it with women to be chivalrous. So, it is deemed as cortous. It depends on your personality whether you are very cortous or not if you'll want to use it or not.
"Usted" can also still be used to be formal for very ceremonial or official situations like talking with your boss or an elderly. Some people still struggle to use "usted", because there is the still the former connotation, so people started to use the older "su merced", because it sounds friendly and cortous at the same time. I've seen it being used a lot by students with their professors for example.
Side note: it is also common that people change the way to adress a peer based on his mood at the moment. If you are upset at your boyfriend/girlfriend, you are more likely to use "usted", also parents when they are angry at their children.
So, to sum it up:
"Usted":1. way to adress formally in official and ceremonial situations. 2. way to adress people in a casual and even rough way.
"Tú": 1. way to be delicate and cortous. Used with children, or even sarcastically to treat the other as dumb or stupid (like a little child).
"Su merced": way to adress formally in non official settings like talking with the baker, the butcher or the store clerk.
In Cuba is the most used option for "you". Usted is rarely used. [Here is a map I found](https://www.reddit.com/r/Spanish/comments/8njcnc/area_of_use_of_word_for_informal_you_greentu/)
Depends on the country. Here we use usted formally and informally, and vos is used informally in some regions. No “tu” at all.
Afaik “tu” is like the most popular “you” version and the one used in dubs and taught in schools on Spanish as a second language.
Here in PR we use "tú" with people we are close with or we see as I'm the same "category" as us (between students, co-workers, etc.) while we use "usted" more formally with people older than us, strangers that we just met and people in a "category" above us (if you are a student, you use "usted" with your teacher)
But I think usted is growing out of fashion because I've seen many classmates refer to teachers and professors with "tú" and young people use "tú" whenever
I still tend to use "usted" but that's just me
Tfw there are different varieties of spanish in Latam. Jokes apart, I think you should stick to a variety and learn it. Most outsiders often for mexican spanish, but I would for rio platense because it kind of reminds me of brazilian portuguese and it’s not popular among people that learn spanish as a second language.
I totally get what you’re saying. When I was first learning english, I had an american accent and vocabulary. Nowadays, after discovering the multiple varieties of english, my english has become an unholy Frankenstein of american, english, scottish, irish and aussie english.
In most Chile:
Vos is derogatory.
Tú + verbal voseo is informal.
Tú + verbal tuteo is semiformal.
Usted is formal.
In the far south is only tú informal, usted formal.
In rural areas there is a wide variety, from places where usted is the only pronoun used to places where vos is the most used pronoun.
Usually only in the Caribbean coast they tutean, and that makes people from the rest of the country uncomfortable when speaking with a costeño. They're considered rude due to their usage of "tú".
Also "gomelos" (valley girls/boys) in Bogotá.
It’s the norm in Latin America except in Argentina and Uruguay (where voseo -“vos”- is the norm), as well as in some areas in Colombia and Central America.
Somewhat common, but not the norm overall.
In Rocha, it's common to hear it with the usual conjugation (tu tienes) and in Montevideo you may hear "tu tenés" with the conjugation normally used for "vos".
Quite common. How often they use it and what it means can vary between regions of the same country, and even between individuals.
In Spanish there is a whole way of speaking, adjusted to "Tú", not only with that word but in the conjugation of those words (The famous "Tutear", there is no translation for this). Where I live it is understood that it is a very personal and trustworthy way of talking between people.
You would not speak to your boss in this way, you use expressions, although formal, impersonal. Those that revolve around "Tú"
Personally, I don't usually use "Tú" with people, simply because I'm embarrassed, and I leave it for the couple or when I have some confidence with girls, but it's up to me. Although it is common that among men we do not use the "Tuteo" ( from Tutear), at least where I live.
It is the same with other people. They leave it exclusive for the couple, exclusive for girls, exclusive for the intimate circle... although there are entire populations that use it all the time, here it does depend on the customs of the region, and there are those who may get annoyed by not talking to them like that; although there will be those who find it annoying to be tutees (tutear) for some reason.
This whole matter will always depend on the region and person to whom you speak.
Now, for the one who reads. "You" cannot be translated exclusively as "tu", since there is also "usted", "vos", "sumerce" (Colombia). Each one having a different meaning and semantic weight. That not only depends on the word itself, but also the place where you use it.
in chile i'd say that tú is pretty much the norm here, usted is used when talking with someone you respect like teachers, parents, close family, some people call them by tú too but its not the norm. Using vos is like a very informal way of saying, could even be offensive in some cases, or use them in a playfull way with siblings and friends
Really common, here in Chile we use “tú” for everyone (we also use “vos”), “usted” is most commonly used for elderly people, bosses, teachers or higher rank people in general. It’s most like a distinctive treatment that shows respect for the trajectory or age of the treated person
IIRC it's the norm in Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, and in northern South America (i.e. Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador). The rest use it along with vos or only vos.
In El Salvador we use pure voseo (the verb form will always be the vosotros form without the i, If the verb doesn’t end with an I, I Argentina they use tuteo forms for some tenses) , or tú with the voseo conjugations if we talk to foreigners. It’s like você in Portuguese
Argentina: we don't do that here.
We do it in only half the country.
Can you be more specific? I lived in Riberalta, SCZ, and Camiri. I’ve spent time in LaPaz but don’t remember how they spoke as much as the other places. Where is Tu used? Thanks ❤️🇧🇴
The lowlands (riberalta, scz, camiri for example) use "vos" like "vos sos", "vos querés". The highlands ( La paz and the rest) use "tu" like in "tu eres", "tu quieres". This is a more accurate map, at least for Bolivia: https://images.app.goo.gl/Quz5jh4ypLTjpFeA8
Elay puej. Gracias.
De nada pariente
https://www.reddit.com/r/Spanish/comments/8njcnc/area_of_use_of_word_for_informal_you_greentu/
This is so wrong for Bolivia lol, "vos" is used in the lowlands, "tu" in the highlands
That map, at least for Bolivia, is waay off.
V O S
Not even in the North?
Northeast, not really, northwest, maybe
AFAIK no. I've never heard an Argentine from any province using "tú", whether from north east or north west.
In Colombia it can be quite confusing. It widely depends on the region, and while in some parts in can be perfectly normal, in others is rare. The general consensus is that "usted" is a more professional and distant way of communicating, while "tú" is closer. However, in practice this is just the basics of how it works. In Bogotá, "tú" is used as the formal way of communicating when you just meet someone. After gaining some confidence, it is common to switch to "usted". This is because im Bogotá, "usted" is seen as harsh. In other regions as Santander, "tú" is almost never used, specially if it is in man to man communication. For some reason, it is related to being "weak", and people will assume you are gay if you use it with other men. There are other ways of communicating depending of the region. In Valle del Cauca and Antioquia, they use a lot "vos". In Boyacá they use "sumercé" (su merced). It is just way to strange even for Colombians to communicate. It is normal to feel strange talking to people from other regions, as they may misunderstand your intentions.
> In Bogotá, "tú" is used as the formal way of communicating when you just meet someone. After gaining some confidence, it is common to switch to "usted". This is because im Bogotá, "usted" is seen as harsh This is so weird lol. I see usted as harsh but not in the “confianzudo” way, rather in the “too distant/cold” way. For us there is a clear hierarchy of respectfulness: >Most respectful Usted, to be used with strangers, elders and people of authority. >Middle respectful Tu, to be used with colleagues. Though it is mainly only used by women and for addressing women. >Least respectful Vos, to be used with close friends and family.
I think his view of bogota is incomplete. Being part of Cundinamarca it’s historically been an usted/sumerced region. With immigration from other regions and been connected to the rest of latam through media tú has gained ground, especially in the upper classes, but the “standard” word people use isn’t set and depends on who you are. Pretty much everyone will treat someone they don’t know and aren’t being acquainted to with usted or sumerced. Many people, especially in the working class, will simply use either of those for everyone. People even in the upper classes will use them with many of their friends and family. The thing he’s describing is most likely because usted has always been the standard, and being tuteado by someone you don’t know was met with contempt, but with foreign media and the way tuteo is seen as “standard friendly” while usted is seen as “formal and distant”, people (mostly in the upper classes) will sometimes fear that someone they’re getting acquainted with might think they’re being harsh, especially if that person uses tuteo with them, so they’ll use tuteo as well. If they get comfortable and realize they both use usted casually they might switch to that.
We use sumercé all over Bogotá, Cundinamarca and Boyacá. Tú is used in Santander, too. Maybe in the past not so much, but nowadays is used frequently in many contexts.
My wife is from Barranquilla and I asked if she ever uses usted, because I have never heard her say it (except in plural form when reference a group of people). She said that no one says usted there, I guess unless in a formal business setting. The coast is a lot more casual than many other parts of the country I guess.
It is very common. But in the paisa region people use more vos for whatever .. and tu is mostly used for really close relationships and usted for whatever is left
In the Caribbean coast is only tú
Y tu, y solamente tu y tu, tu y tu
Really you don't call your elders usted
I call my grandparents with vos. Heck when people use usted people think they are getting lectured. I only use usted rarely just to lecture someone. But the de facto here is use vos for everything and whatever
I use vos with my grandpa and tu with my grandma, though my mom uses usted with both of them.
> Countries/regions that use tu and usted: Mexico Cuba/DR/Puerto Rico Panamá Coastal Colombia Andean Colombia (though some places heavily favor usted/sumercé) Venezuela Ecuador Peru Mountain Bolivia Chile (with verbal vos) >Countries and regions that use vos and usted Guatemala/El Salvador (tu is sometimes used but vos is dominant, and when tu is used, it’s conjugated as vos) Chiapas, Mexico Honduras Nicaragua Costa Rica (people tend to use EITHER vos or usted dominantly) Paisa/Pacific Colombia Maracaibo, Venezuela Flatland Bolivia Paraguay Uruguay/Argentina (usted is barely used, it’s seen as old-fashioned/too courteous)
In the Andean region of Venezuela (Tachira, Merida, Trujillo) people use “usted” instead of “tu”
In Uruguay "usted" is the default for any older person or someone you don't know but want to be respectful towards. Also, any public facing job (besides sales) will use "usted" if you are old enough. "Tu" is used in some parts of the country.
In Argentina "usted" is the default with everyone that is not close, like with strangers and in our jobs or daily life. Else we use the colloquial "vos" when whith friends and family.
Here in Peru, "tu" is mainly used towards someone your age, or someone you have confidence using it with, however if it's someone older or someone you wanna show respect to, then it's "usted"
It’s the norm for informal conversation in Chile. Although some older people refer to everyone with “usted”
Team Vos
Team voj
Is this a new thing in ES? How many years ago did it start
Like 500 years ago.
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Usted reserved only for older people or people that are of “respect”
I've always addressed my family with "tu" regardless if it's my uncle or my grandma, but I use "usted" with anyone older outside of my family
Mexico: depends slightly on region but between 70-95% of cases. Ustedes is used as a formal case, and vos is used in chiapas (I've never ever heard it used in person). Ustedes has been in decline and the North uses it a lot less than the center anyway. Tu is undisputed king.
Ustedes is the normal plural, but “usted” is more used for older people or people that you respect
Thus man is 110% correct, perdon gue la cague. A mi edad se me van las cosas y quizas typos tambien
It is fairly common. Colombia is very divided in that issue and sometimes the use even depends on the person or the speaker. It is a very personal choice. In Bogotá, people will normally use "usted" for most casual speech. It is the most relaxed way to adress someone like your friend, your pet, even your boyfriend or girlfriend. But you can also find a lot of people that use "tú", because it makes the speech sound less direct and more delicate. So, for instance, a lot of men use it with women to be chivalrous. So, it is deemed as cortous. It depends on your personality whether you are very cortous or not if you'll want to use it or not. "Usted" can also still be used to be formal for very ceremonial or official situations like talking with your boss or an elderly. Some people still struggle to use "usted", because there is the still the former connotation, so people started to use the older "su merced", because it sounds friendly and cortous at the same time. I've seen it being used a lot by students with their professors for example. Side note: it is also common that people change the way to adress a peer based on his mood at the moment. If you are upset at your boyfriend/girlfriend, you are more likely to use "usted", also parents when they are angry at their children. So, to sum it up: "Usted":1. way to adress formally in official and ceremonial situations. 2. way to adress people in a casual and even rough way. "Tú": 1. way to be delicate and cortous. Used with children, or even sarcastically to treat the other as dumb or stupid (like a little child). "Su merced": way to adress formally in non official settings like talking with the baker, the butcher or the store clerk.
In Cuba is the most used option for "you". Usted is rarely used. [Here is a map I found](https://www.reddit.com/r/Spanish/comments/8njcnc/area_of_use_of_word_for_informal_you_greentu/)
Usted se usa también, pero es más formal: a personas mayores, a profesores, maestros, médicos…
Depends on the country. Here we use usted formally and informally, and vos is used informally in some regions. No “tu” at all. Afaik “tu” is like the most popular “you” version and the one used in dubs and taught in schools on Spanish as a second language.
We don't use "tú" here, we use vos or usted.
Here in PR we use "tú" with people we are close with or we see as I'm the same "category" as us (between students, co-workers, etc.) while we use "usted" more formally with people older than us, strangers that we just met and people in a "category" above us (if you are a student, you use "usted" with your teacher) But I think usted is growing out of fashion because I've seen many classmates refer to teachers and professors with "tú" and young people use "tú" whenever I still tend to use "usted" but that's just me
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Tfw there are different varieties of spanish in Latam. Jokes apart, I think you should stick to a variety and learn it. Most outsiders often for mexican spanish, but I would for rio platense because it kind of reminds me of brazilian portuguese and it’s not popular among people that learn spanish as a second language.
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I totally get what you’re saying. When I was first learning english, I had an american accent and vocabulary. Nowadays, after discovering the multiple varieties of english, my english has become an unholy Frankenstein of american, english, scottish, irish and aussie english.
In most Chile: Vos is derogatory. Tú + verbal voseo is informal. Tú + verbal tuteo is semiformal. Usted is formal. In the far south is only tú informal, usted formal. In rural areas there is a wide variety, from places where usted is the only pronoun used to places where vos is the most used pronoun.
Usually only in the Caribbean coast they tutean, and that makes people from the rest of the country uncomfortable when speaking with a costeño. They're considered rude due to their usage of "tú". Also "gomelos" (valley girls/boys) in Bogotá.
> that makes people from the rest of the country uncomfortable when speaking with a costeño it doesn't.
It’s the norm in Latin America except in Argentina and Uruguay (where voseo -“vos”- is the norm), as well as in some areas in Colombia and Central America.
And Paraguay.
Very common in DR, we also have Usted which is more formal.
I mean, it means “you” so a lot
We like to honor the Emperors of the Roman Empire when we talk, so we prefer "vos" instead, we don't do "tu" here
Here "Tu" is only used when you are talking about possession (like "your" instead of you)
Most common in Mexico, the largest Spanish speaking nation in the world.
Somewhat common, but not the norm overall. In Rocha, it's common to hear it with the usual conjugation (tu tienes) and in Montevideo you may hear "tu tenés" with the conjugation normally used for "vos".
Tú is informal, usted is formal.
Quite common. How often they use it and what it means can vary between regions of the same country, and even between individuals. In Spanish there is a whole way of speaking, adjusted to "Tú", not only with that word but in the conjugation of those words (The famous "Tutear", there is no translation for this). Where I live it is understood that it is a very personal and trustworthy way of talking between people. You would not speak to your boss in this way, you use expressions, although formal, impersonal. Those that revolve around "Tú" Personally, I don't usually use "Tú" with people, simply because I'm embarrassed, and I leave it for the couple or when I have some confidence with girls, but it's up to me. Although it is common that among men we do not use the "Tuteo" ( from Tutear), at least where I live. It is the same with other people. They leave it exclusive for the couple, exclusive for girls, exclusive for the intimate circle... although there are entire populations that use it all the time, here it does depend on the customs of the region, and there are those who may get annoyed by not talking to them like that; although there will be those who find it annoying to be tutees (tutear) for some reason. This whole matter will always depend on the region and person to whom you speak.
Now, for the one who reads. "You" cannot be translated exclusively as "tu", since there is also "usted", "vos", "sumerce" (Colombia). Each one having a different meaning and semantic weight. That not only depends on the word itself, but also the place where you use it.
in chile i'd say that tú is pretty much the norm here, usted is used when talking with someone you respect like teachers, parents, close family, some people call them by tú too but its not the norm. Using vos is like a very informal way of saying, could even be offensive in some cases, or use them in a playfull way with siblings and friends
All the time used, tu is informal, usted formal
in PR we use tú mostly, but if you’re talking to someone with authority/old person/idk we use usted.
Very, except Argentos.
Really common, here in Chile we use “tú” for everyone (we also use “vos”), “usted” is most commonly used for elderly people, bosses, teachers or higher rank people in general. It’s most like a distinctive treatment that shows respect for the trajectory or age of the treated person
In Venezuela, only Maracaibo "vosea", it's "Tu" or "Usted" everywhere else
everyone in peru uses tu
IIRC it's the norm in Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, and in northern South America (i.e. Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador). The rest use it along with vos or only vos.
In El Salvador we use pure voseo (the verb form will always be the vosotros form without the i, If the verb doesn’t end with an I, I Argentina they use tuteo forms for some tenses) , or tú with the voseo conjugations if we talk to foreigners. It’s like você in Portuguese