What's the difference between "tu" and "Lei"?

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 video

Send Message Reserve Video Session

-"tu" is informal: we use it with friends, with people we know or with people who have more or less our age. In this case, we use the 2nd person singular. An example can be: "ciao, (tu) come stai?" -"lei" is formal: we use it with people we don't know, people older than us or with professionals (doctors etc). The sentence here is at the 3rd person singular. Using the same sentence as before we will say: "buongiorno, (lei) come sta?". Here we need to change the greeting as well, since "ciao" is informal. We will choose somenthing more formal among "buongiorno"/"buonasera" or "salve" depending on the part of the day.

Related Lessons

Thematisch ähnliche Unterrichtseinheiten

How Are You?
Come Stai?

Related Videos

Themenbezogene Videos

When do you use "mi dispiace" and "mi scusi"? What's the difference?
Silvia
What are the different ways of saying “welcome” in Italian?
Silvia
Introduction: Petar Markovic
Petar Markovic
Como se diferencia "sie" y "Sie" en la pronunciación?
Nayane Bremm
How do I use the present continuous in German? For example, phrases like "I am studying German now" or "They are talking to me"
Nayane Bremm
How do you pronounce an Umlaut (ä, ö, ü) in German?
Nayane Bremm
What's the difference between "tu" and "Lei"?
Silvia
Introduction: Tim Berendse
Tim Berendse
Change language:
Französisch Spanisch Englisch Italienisch Deutsch Portugiesisch