tu or vous ? Which “you” should you choose?
In French, we use 2 types of you as a subject: tu and vous. It is very important to know which one to use, in order not to offend the person you are talking to. When do you use one or the other?
Vous
vous is the formal you. When using vous to talk to someone, you show some distance, meaning you don’t know each other very well. You will use vous:
–> when addressing someone you meet for the first time
–> in a work environment (depending on the ambiance / unless someone invites you to use « tu » with them)
–> with the employees of shops, restaurants,…
Tu
tu is the informal you. When using tu to talk to someone, you show some closeness with this person.
You will use tu:
–> with children
–> with friends and relatives
–> with people who officially invited you to use tu with them
–> in an informal context such as during a party, in a bar, on holidays,…
–> with pets
You may already know that in French, the form of a verb changes according to the subject. It means that for any sentence you will structure with you, you will have to learn 2 ways of conjugating this
verb.
| 🇫🇷 French | 🇬🇧 English | |
|---|---|---|
| Vous aimez la France ? (formal) | Do you like France? | |
| Tu aimes la France ? (informal) | Do you like France? | |
| Vous êtes Julie ? (formal) | Are you Julie? | |
| Tu es Julie ? (informal) | Are you Julie? |
Autres informations – Other facts
Tutoyer and vouvoyer
2 French verbs exist meaning “speak using vous” and “speak using tu“. They are respectively “vouvoyer” and “tutoyer“. These verbs are useful when you don’t know if you should use vous or tu with the person you talk with.
| 🇫🇷 French | 🇬🇧 English | |
|---|---|---|
| On peut se tutoyer ? | Can we say informal you (tu) to each other? |
2 versions pour le mot please – 2 versions for the word please
| 🇫🇷 French | 🇬🇧 English | |
|---|---|---|
| s’il vous plaît (formal) | please | |
| s’il te plaît (informal) | please |
2 versions pour le mot your – 2 versions for the word your
As there are 2 versions for you as a subject, there are as well 2 versions for your, yours and all words including a notion of possessiveness. your can be:
. ton, ta or tes (depending if masculine, feminine or plural) when in tu-mode or
. votre or vos (depending if singular or plural) when in vous-mode.
(see lesson about possessive adjectives)
| 🇫🇷 French | 🇬🇧 English | |
|---|---|---|
| C’est votre passeport ? (formal) | Is it your passport? | |
| C’est ton passeport ? (informal) | Is it your passport? | |
| Donnez-moi votre téléphone s’il vous plait. | Give me your phone please. | |
| Donne-moi ton téléphone s’il te plait. | Give me your phone please. |
You will progressively learn in the next lessons, for each category of words, the 2 versions related to you.