What exactly does tu and Usted mean?!!
Hey all, I'm a beginner in spanish and I'm really kind of confused by the tu and Usted thing. Are these words you use in sentences and such? I'd be really grateful if someone could help me clear my head about it. Thank you.
4 Answers
HOLA! tú means "you" informally and usted means "you" formally
tú and usted are second person pronoun which translate to "you" as a second person pronoun. (note: yo (meaning "I") and nosotros (meaning "we" are first person. él/ella (meaning "he/she") and ellos/ellas (meaning "they") are third person.)
tú means "you" informally
tú is informal singular (vosotros would be "you" plural [commonly translated as "you all"]). tú is used to talk to your family [including parents, grandparents, siblings], your friends (or those around your age- even if you do not know them), and those who are younger than you if they are not of a 'higher rank'. When you first meet someone, you may use usted; however, over time, as you develop a friendship you may switch to use tú. When in doubt on which form of "you" to use, it is suggested that usted is used (see below).
usted means "you" formally
usted is formal singular. ustedes is formal plural. usted is used to be polite and show respect. It is used to converse with your employer, boss, a professional (your attorney, your doctor, your teacher), those who are older than you (more than about 10 years older- unless they are family or friends [this depends on the specific people and relationship]), your principal, the priest or minister, to use in prayer to your God, to speak to the elderly and when making a presentation or speaking to an audience or crowd or assembly (for example: a verbal class presentation or the president addressing the congress or a news reporter presenting the news).
I hope this helps you!!! If you have any questions send me a personal message! CUBA LIBRE 68
Tu means You --- Usted is also You but in an honorific way
Usted is used to address older people, or your boss, or someone we don't know well that needs to be treated with more respect.
Tu is used to address people that are more familiar. Our friends and basically people about our own age.
Just think when you feel compelled to addressing someone as Sir (Señor), well that will also be the time to use Usted.
¿Tiene usted la hora? --- Do you have the time? (asking a stranger)
¿Tu quieres jugar a los escondites? --- Do you want to play hide and seek? (asking someone our own age) 
Mya_99:
Here is a good place to get started in understanding "Tú, Usted, Yo," and all the other personal pronouns.
"Click" on this link ---->Personal Pronouns
When you have had a chance to read it over, you will have a much clearer idea what they are and how to use them and be a lot happier for your new knowledge.
Welcome to our SpanishDict Learning community and its question and answer forum. We all hope you enjoy your time here.
Best Regards, Moe
The difference between "Tu" and "Usted" also means another thing and serves a very important purpose. Usually "Tu" is used in a more familiar way, is the way you refer when you are speaking to someone you know and feel confortable with, a person of you're confident with and that has your confidence. "Usted" is used to distance yourself from the person and not letting your guard down with that person and protect yourself from that person. Not giving and allowing the Usted person to become too familiar with you. So it can also be used to protect yourself from another person who's trying to mind your business and gives you a sense of control over how you'd like to be treated and how you refer to others. It's the same as in Portuguese TU(TU) and VOCÊ(USTED) (I'm portuguese) and also thought it was weird at first but then it makes sense, because it can be used in different ways and you learn to defend yourself. It's the same as using YOU or SIR/MAAM in english. But sometimes can be used to try get in your nerves and that's why i love english lol, is more gender neutral and pro-equality. But each language has it's downfalls, one just "gotta" learn to deal with it.
