dime and digame
What's the difference between dime and digame'
14 Answers
dime is familiar use
digame is formal use
Not a perfect rule, by any means but... I would suggest that you consider what name(s) you use to address them. If you call someone by his/her given name, use "tú". If you address them by their family names (or honorific/title), use "usted".
Hi Dunia, have a questions here.
Dime refers tú and dígame refers usted. Which conjugated tense did you use for "decir" to put "decir" and "me" together?
My example is below:
Dáme refers "tú"
Déme refers "usted"?
Gracias de antemano,
Marco
It's just variant by culture. Where I worked in Colombia the kids considered it homosexual to us "tu" with other men, and used only usted. That was only in one small region of Colombia, and it was the Texas of Colombia, but that was how they were.
There is a third option too "decíme", which is vos, and is the choice in Argentina, Uruguay, Honduras, and larges sections of Colombia and some other countries. fun stuff.
In my personal experience, I was raised to use "usted" with grown-ups and people I don't know because it shows respect. I tend to use "usted" because to me, it shows respect for the other person.
In college, I learned that in some Latin American cultures, "usted" shows distance. If you use "usted" with someone, it means that you are trying to keep a certain distance with that person, that you do not want to get too close to him/her and/or are not planning on developing any sort of relationship.
This upset me, since I worked at a hotel where most of the housekeeping and banquet staff was Spanish-speaking. I always used "usted" with them, because I wanted to show respect (in my point of view, if I used "tú" with them it would show that I felt I was superior to them, that I could "talk down" to them in the informal even though they had not given me permission to do so). However, depending on where they had grown up, they could have interpreted my use of "usted" as a way for me to keep distance between us: I was pale-skinned and in college, they were darker-skinned and working at this hourly job, so I thought I was "above" them. My intent had been the exact opposite of this. I felt terrible.
So, yes, there is a cultural difference. Some people may be able to point out which countries or regions prefer to use "usted" as a sign of respect and which prefer to use "tú" because "usted" is too stuffy, but I'm not that person. I guess you can just go with "When in Rome..." (or flat-out ask what the person prefers, or how they do things where he/she is from).
Criss.
Not exactly. Standard is supossed to be ok in any situation. Informal in some situations can be wrong. Standar is a bit above informal.
I have given you a general rule, but the use of "usted" is not necessary, at all. In fact I hate it. It is the choice of every person.
Is your standard speech equal to informal speech'
yes, that's it, lu
Hi quantum, apart from dunia's reply, you can have a look here:
[url=http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A19009]http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A19009[/url]
[url=http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A189178]http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A189178[/url]
[url=http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A222328]http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A222328[/url]
Is your "familiar use" equal to "informal use"'
I worked in Central America, where they always say digame ...; haga el favor de ...venga etc. Could you tell me why'
On a slight tangent, Dunia, I have a cultural question. Tell me if I should repost this in the cultural section of the forum.
You said Dígame (usted) is used with people unknown to you... I've spoken with many Hispanic people, who were strangers to me, living in Alabama, who seem to be perhaps more relaxed and informal. They seem to be uncomfortable if I speak formally to them. Is there a cultural difference about using the formal usted or am I just trying too hard? :D
Thanks!
dime (tú). Standard speech
dígame (usted). Formal speech, used with unknown or elderly people.
