Tu vs Vous
French Subject Pronouns

There are two different words for you in French: tu and vous. There are even verbs for them: tutoyer means to call someone tu and vouvoyer means to call someone vous. They are not interchangeable, so it is very important to understand when and why to use each of them. Otherwise, you may inadvertantly insult someone by using the wrong you.

Tu is the familiar you. It demonstrates a certain closeness and informality. Use tu when speaking to a

• friend
• peer / colleague
• relative
• child
• pet

Vous is the formal and plural you. It is used to show respect or maintain a certain distance / formality with any person. In addition, vous is always used when you are talking to more than one person (or thing). Use vous when speaking to

• someone you don't know well
• an older person
• an authority figure
• anyone to whom you wish to show respect
• two or more people, animals, etc.

Some people follow the guideline of using whatever the other person uses with them. This can be misleading: someone in authority may use tu with you, but that certainly doesn't mean that you can respond in kind. When in doubt, I tend to use vous. I'd rather show someone too much respect than not enough!

Test on Tu vs Vous     Confusing French Pairs

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