How to say 'you' in Spanish using 'usted' and 'ustedes'

• Use usted and ustedes instead of tú and vosotros to address people in a polite way.

• Usted can be shortened to Ud and ustedes can be shortened to Uds.

• The verb ending for usted is the same as third person singular.

There are two ways of addressing someone in Spanish, translated as ‘you’, in both the singular and plural forms of the verb.

In the singular there is the informal tú form and the formal usted form.

In the plural there is the informal vosotros form and the formal ustedes form.

It is important to know when to use each one.

Use usted with older people and those who you want to show more respect to. For example, at work, you would address your boss with usted and not with tú. Even if your boss is younger than you, usted would be the correct word to use, unless you’ve been asked by your boss to use tú.

In general, you should use it with anyone who looks older than you.

In Spain most students call their teacher by their first name and address them as tú, as teacher-student relationships in Spain are more informal.

Did you know?

Some cultures are more informal than others. For example, Spanish speakers in Spain tend to use formal speech less often than speakers in Central and South America. In these countries, a good rule is to default to formal speech and use usted and ustedes when in doubt.

Most people in Central and South America also use usted with their grandparents, their friends’ parents, and sometimes even their own parents or other family members who are older than them.

The abbreviated version of usted is Ud. The shortened version of ustedes is Uds.

The shortened forms Ud. and Uds. need to be capitalised.

The verb ending for usted is the same as the third person singular (the same as the ‘he/she’ part of the verb).

When you’re speaking to more than one person formally, the pronoun is ustedes and the verb ending for ustedes is the same as the third person plural (the same as the ‘they’ part of the verb).

For example, look at two high frequency verbs, estar (to be) and poder (to be able to, can):

It’s a good idea to add usted to a sentence to make it absolutely clear who you’re talking to.

For example:

¿Cómo está usted? - How are you (singular formal)?

¿Puede usted ayudarme? - Can you (singular formal) help me?

¿Cómo están ustedes? - How are you (plural formal)?

¿Pueden ustedes ayudarme? - Can you (plural formal) help me?

When formally asking a person or people a question about their opinion using the verb gustar the correct pronoun must be used. Add le before gusta when speaking to one person formally and les before gusta when speaking to more than one person formally.For example:

¿A usted le gusta chocolate? - Do you (formal singular) like chocolate?

¿A utedes les gusta pizza? - Do you (formal plural) like pizza?

Practise what you've learned about usted and ustedes with this quiz.

Now you have learned about usted and ustedes in Spanish why not explore desde hace and the present tense in Spanish?