When should I use tu and when should I use vous in French?

Use tu for one person you're close to: family, friends, children, classmates, most younger colleagues. Use vous for anyone you'd address by title, for strangers, and for more than one person of any kind. If you're unsure with a single adult, open with vous.

Is vous singular or plural?

Both, and that's what makes it awkward. The verb is always the plural form (vous avez), but if you're addressing one person, adjectives and participles stay singular: vous êtes venu seul. Context and words like monsieur or tous tell the listener which vous you mean.

Is it rude to use tu with a stranger?

It can be, especially with someone older, someone serving you, or anyone in an official role. It reads as either overfamiliar or dismissive. Among people under about thirty in informal settings it's increasingly normal, but vous is never the wrong opening move.

How do I move from vous to tu?

Someone proposes it out loud. The usual formulas are on peut se tutoyer ? and vous pouvez me tutoyer. Conventionally the older person or the one with more authority offers first, and once you've switched you stay switched.

Why does vous need agreement in vous vous êtes assis?

Because s'asseoir is reflexive and takes être, so its participle agrees with the subject. To one woman it's vous vous êtes assise; to a mixed group, vous vous êtes assis. The double vous is the subject followed by the reflexive pronoun, and both are required.

French grammar · Beginner

Tu or Vous in French: Which You to Use and When

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

French has two words for you. Tu addresses one person you're close to, and vous addresses either several people or one person you're being polite to. The choice is not optional and it changes the verb, the possessives, the object pronouns and the imperative, so it has to be settled before you open your mouth.

Tu viens avec nous ? — Vous venez avec nous, madame ?

Are you coming with us? — Are you coming with us, madam?

What it is

English lost its informal you four centuries ago; French kept both. Tu is singular and familiar, vous is plural and also the polite singular. Choosing between them is a social decision with grammatical consequences, because everything that agrees with the subject changes too.

Tu as ton billet ? / Vous avez votre billet ? — Have you got your ticket?

How to spot it

Count the people first. More than one, and it's vous with no further thought. Exactly one, and you have to judge the relationship: family, friends, children and animals take tu, and anyone else starts on vous.

Tu me passes le sel ? — Can you pass me the salt? (a friend)
Vous désirez autre chose ? — Would you like anything else? (a customer)
Vous êtes tous là ? — Are you all here? (a group)
Papa, tu m'écoutes ? — Dad, are you listening to me? (family)

When you genuinely don't know, vous is the safe option. Being too formal is mildly stiff; being too familiar can be read as rude.

Subject Pronouns Tu vs. Vous Quick Reference

What changes when you switch between tu and vous

Element	With tu	With vous	English
Present of être	tu es	vous êtes	you are
Present of avoir	tu as	vous avez	you have
Object pronoun	te / t'	vous	you
Stressed pronoun	toi	vous	you
Possessive	ton, ta, tes	votre, vos	your
Reflexive	te	vous	yourself
Imperative	Viens !	Venez !	Come!
Reflexive imperative	Assieds-toi !	Asseyez-vous !	Sit down!

Common Subject Pronouns Tu vs. Vous Examples in French

The same conversation in both registers, and the places the choice shows up:

Tu With People You Know

Tu habites où maintenant ?: Where do you live now?
Tu as reçu mon message ?: Did you get my message?
Je te rappelle ce soir.: I'll call you back tonight.
N'oublie pas tes clés.: Don't forget your keys.

Tu is standard between friends, within families, among colleagues of a similar age in most workplaces, with children, and with pets.

Vous as the Polite Singular

Vous avez réservé, monsieur ?: Do you have a reservation, sir?
Comment allez-vous ?: How are you?
Je vous remercie de votre réponse.: Thank you for your reply.
Pourriez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ?: Could you repeat that, please?

Shops, offices, officials, older strangers and anyone in a professional relationship with you: vous, until they say otherwise.

Vous as the Plural

Vous venez tous les deux ?: Are you both coming?
Les enfants, vous avez fini ?: Children, have you finished?
Vous vous connaissez déjà ?: Do you already know each other?
Je vous invite tous.: I'm inviting all of you.

This vous is not polite or impolite; it's simply the plural. You use it with a group of close friends exactly as with a room of strangers.

Negotiating the Switch

On peut se tutoyer ?: Shall we use tu?
Tu peux me tutoyer, tu sais.: You can call me tu, you know.
On se dit vous ou tu ?: Are we on vous or tu terms?
Je préfère qu'on se vouvoie.: I'd rather we stayed on vous.

French has verbs for this: tutoyer and vouvoyer. The move from vous to tu is usually proposed by the older person or the one higher up.

What the Choice Actually Changes

Picking tu or vous is not a single substitution: it propagates through the whole sentence.

The Verb Form Changes Everywhere

Every tense has a distinct tu form and vous form, and they rarely resemble each other. Tu es and vous êtes, tu fais and vous faites, tu vas and vous allez all have to be learned as pairs.

Tu sais où tu vas ? Vous savez où vous allez ?

Do you know where you're going?

Change the pronoun, change the verb.

Possessives Change Too

Tu takes ton, ta, tes; vous takes votre and vos. Mixing them across a sentence is one of the clearest signals that a learner is switching registers by accident.

Vous avez votre passeport et vos billets ?

Do you have your passport and your tickets?

tu → ton, vous → votre.

Vous Is Its Own Object and Reflexive Pronoun

Where tu has te as its object form and toi as its stressed form, vous uses the single word vous in every slot: subject, object, reflexive and stressed.

Vous vous êtes présenté à la réception ?

Did you check in at reception?

vous does all four jobs.

The Imperatives Are Different Shapes

The tu imperative of an -er verb drops the final s (regarde, écoute), while the vous imperative is identical to the ordinary vous form. Reflexive commands end in -toi or -vous.

Écoute-moi. — Écoutez-moi.

Listen to me.

Regarde ! / Regardez !

Formal Vous Stays Singular for Agreement

When vous addresses one person, adjectives and past participles are singular even though the verb is plural. Only the verb pretends there are several of you.

Vous êtes déjà venue ici, madame ?

Have you been here before, madam?

Plural verb, singular adjective.

Common Mistakes with Subject Pronouns Tu vs. Vous

Incorrect: Vous es en retard. — You're late.

Correct: Vous êtes en retard. — You're late.

The verb has to follow the pronoun. Es belongs to tu and êtes to vous, and mixing them is the most audible sign that the register slipped mid-sentence.

Incorrect: Vous avez oublié ton manteau. — You've forgotten your coat.

Correct: Vous avez oublié votre manteau. — You've forgotten your coat.

The possessive belongs to the same register as the subject. Vous pairs with votre and vos, never with ton, ta or tes.

Incorrect: Vous êtes très gentils, madame. — You're very kind, madam.

Correct: Vous êtes très gentille, madame. — You're very kind, madam.

The polite vous refers to one person, so the adjective is singular and takes the gender of that person. Only the verb uses the plural form.

Incorrect: Assieds-vous, s'il vous plaît. — Please sit down.

Correct: Asseyez-vous, s'il vous plaît. — Please sit down.

The imperative and the attached pronoun have to match. Assieds goes with toi and asseyez goes with vous; half of each produces a form that doesn't exist.

The Parts That Trip People Up

Two grammatical wrinkles and one social convention account for most vous-related mistakes.

Agreement with a formal, singular vous

The verb is always the plural form, but anything that agrees with the person, rather than with the verb, follows the real number and gender of the person you're speaking to.

Vous êtes prêt, monsieur ?: Are you ready, sir?
Vous êtes prête, madame ?: Are you ready, madam?
Vous êtes prêts ? (à un groupe): Are you ready? (to a group)
Vous vous êtes trompée de train.: You took the wrong train. (to one woman)

This is where a formal email gives away a learner: vous êtes inscrits to one person suggests you've forgotten who you're writing to.

Proposing and accepting the switch to tu

Moving from vous to tu is a small social event with its own phrases. The invitation comes from the person with more seniority, and refusing it politely is possible.

On se tutoie, non ?: Let's use tu, shall we?
Vous pouvez me tutoyer.: You can use tu with me.
Je peux vous tutoyer ?: May I use tu with you?
Continuons à nous vouvoyer, si vous voulez bien.: Let's carry on with vous, if you don't mind.

Once the switch is made it's permanent, and going back to vous afterwards reads as cold or sarcastic.

Where the conventions vary

The line between tu and vous moves with age, region and setting, so the safe default depends on where you are and who you're with.

Salut, tu bosses ici aussi ?: Hi, do you work here too? (young colleagues)
Bonjour, vous avez besoin d'aide ?: Hello, do you need any help? (a stranger)
Tu peux m'aider une seconde ?: Can you give me a hand a second? (a teammate)
Vous m'excuserez, je dois partir.: You'll have to excuse me, I must go. (formal)

Start-ups, universities and Quebec lean towards tu much earlier than banks, ministries and shops in France do. When in doubt, mirror what the other person uses with you.

Subject Pronouns Tu vs. Vous FAQs

When should I use tu and when should I use vous in French?: Use tu for one person you're close to: family, friends, children, classmates, most younger colleagues. Use vous for anyone you'd address by title, for strangers, and for more than one person of any kind. If you're unsure with a single adult, open with vous.
Is vous singular or plural?: Both, and that's what makes it awkward. The verb is always the plural form (vous avez), but if you're addressing one person, adjectives and participles stay singular: vous êtes venu seul. Context and words like monsieur or tous tell the listener which vous you mean.
Is it rude to use tu with a stranger?: It can be, especially with someone older, someone serving you, or anyone in an official role. It reads as either overfamiliar or dismissive. Among people under about thirty in informal settings it's increasingly normal, but vous is never the wrong opening move.
How do I move from vous to tu?: Someone proposes it out loud. The usual formulas are on peut se tutoyer ? and vous pouvez me tutoyer. Conventionally the older person or the one with more authority offers first, and once you've switched you stay switched.
Why does vous need agreement in vous vous êtes assis?: Because s'asseoir is reflexive and takes être, so its participle agrees with the subject. To one woman it's vous vous êtes assise; to a mixed group, vous vous êtes assis. The double vous is the subject followed by the reflexive pronoun, and both are required.