# 2 Formal and informal form of address

The use of tú and usted for ‘you’ in the singular varies across the Spanish-speaking world.

In Spain, the informal tú is used increasingly not just with friends and family, but among people of the same age in general. Nowadays usted is restricted to formal situations or when addressing elderly people, as a mark of respect, courtesy or polite distance.

Figure 1 Introductions

In Latin America, the use of usted is the norm in most countries, sometimes even among family members, and tú is used in very few situations. There are differences from country to country, with the use of tú being more widespread in the coastal Caribbean areas, whilst in the Andean areas of Colombia or Venezuela usted is used even between siblings.

## Activity 2

Listen to the recording and decide whether people are being addressed using tú or usted.

This browser does not support audio playback.

Transcript
Tú
Usted

This browser does not support audio playback.

Transcript
Tú
Usted

This browser does not support audio playback.

Transcript
Tú
Usted

This browser does not support audio playback.

Transcript
Tú
Usted

This browser does not support audio playback.

Transcript
Tú
Usted

OpenLearn - Getting started with Spanish 1
Except for third party materials and otherwise, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence, full copyright detail can be found in the acknowledgements section. Please see full copyright statement for details.