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

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 video


Hello, I’m Guilherme, one of the Portuguese Ambassadors and today I’m going to answer the question: What’s the difference between “tu” and “você”? The quick answer is: they both mean “you”. But, when you’re using “tu”, you have to use the second conjugation, the second person and when you’re using “você”, it’s the third person conjugation. The main reason for this, it’s because in the past “você” was kind of like a title, so it’s kind of like saying “Your Highness” or “Your Honour”. But, you’re never going to say “Your Highness are right or wrong”, you’re going to say “Your Highness is right or wrong”. It’s the third person. So it’s the same idea, when you use “você” it’s the third person. So for example, if we’re using the verb “to eat”, “comer”, if you’re using “tu”, you’re going to say “tu comes”, but if you’re using “você”, you’re going to say “você come”, which is the same as “he” or “she” or “it”. “Ele come”, “ela come”, “você come”. You’re probably going to hear a lot more “tus” in the south of Brazil and the north of Brazil. And kind of like in the middle, a lot more “você”, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais. And when it comes to Portuguese from Portugal, the main difference is that “você” is formal and “tu” is informal. So, in a formal setting, you’re going to say “você”, “você”, “você” and in a informal setting, “tu”. And, I’d say this is probably, yeah, the main difference.

Thematisch ähnliche Unterrichtseinheiten

Themenbezogene Videos

How do I know when to use Akkusativ and when to use Dativ? Is there a rule?
Nayane Bremm
How do you pronounce an Umlaut (ä, ö, ü) in German?
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
Introduction: Csongor Máthé
Csongor Máthé
What's the difference between "du" and "Sie"?
Nayane Bremm
Introduction: Guilherme Ribeiro
Guilherme Ribeiro
Introduction: Petar Markovic
Petar Markovic
Introduction: Tim Berendse
Tim Berendse
Französisch Spanisch Englisch Italienisch Deutsch Portugiesisch Hebräisch