T–V distinction

In sociolinguistics, a T–V distinction is a contrast, within one language, between second-person pronouns that are specialized for varying levels of politeness, social distance, courtesy, familiarity, or insult toward the addressee.

History and usage

The expressions T-form (informal) and V-form (formal) were introduced by Brown and Gilman (1960), with reference to the initial letters of these pronouns in Latin, tu and vos. In Latin, tu was originally the singular, and vos the plural, with no distinction for honorific or familiar. According to Brown and Gilman, usage of the plural to the Roman emperor began in the fourth century AD. They mention the possibility that this was because there were often two or more emperors at that time as augusti, caesares and other titles, and later separate rulers in Constantinople and Rome, but also that "plurality is a very old and ubiquitous metaphor for power". This usage was extended to other powerful figures, such as Pope Gregory I (590–604). However, Brown and Gilman note that it was only between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries that the norms for the use of T- and V-forms crystallized. Less commonly, the use of the plural may be extended to other grammatical person, such as the "royal we" (majestic plural) in English.

Brown and Gilman argued that the choice of form is governed by either relationships of 'power' and/or 'solidarity', depending on the culture of the speakers, showing that 'power' had been the dominant predictor of form in Europe until the twentieth century. Thus, it was quite normal for a powerful person to use a T-form but expect a V-form in return. However in the twentieth century the dynamic shifted in favour of solidarity, so that people would use T-forms with those they knew, and V-forms in service encounters, with reciprocal usage being the norm in both cases.

One other use of the distinction that occurs in some languages is the expression of "mock respect", essentially a humorous way of expressing disapproval, by the use of the formal form to address people with whom one would not normally use it, such as children or close friends.

Brown and Gilman's V-T Theory has been very influential, perhaps in part because its binary system is a convenient, easy-to-grasp concept. However, the V-T Theory does not provide an entirely satisfactory framework of interpretation. First, it hinges on a power-solidarity duality and does not cover adequately a platform of neutrality. Secondly, it does not cater for specific features in different languages, starting with the English case. Manuela Cook's N-V-T Theory covers these gaps.

Modern English is comparatively rare among the languages of Europe in that it lacks a T–V pronoun distinction. In earlier versions of English, thou/thee was used as a T-form for singular second person, while ye/you marked the V-form. However, use of the thou forms became stigmatised and they disappeared from speech, leading to the situation where the original V-form, you, became the only second-person pronoun and thou and thee are considered archaic. Somewhat ironically, to a modern English speaker unaware of the origin of the distinction, the use of thou (for example in prayer), originally a sign of intimacy, now has connotations of formality due to its archaic appearance.

Although English has no syntactic T–V distinction, there are semantic analogues, such as whether to address someone by first or last name (or using sir and ma'am). However the boundaries between formal and informal language differ from language to language, as well as within social groups of the speakers of a given language. In some circumstances, it is not unusual to call other people by first name and the respectful form, or last name and familiar form. For example, German teachers use the former construct with upper-secondary students, while Italian teachers typically use the latter (switching to a full V-form with university students). This can lead to constructions denoting an intermediate level of formality in T–V-distinct languages that sound awkward to English-speakers. For example, the catchphrase of "Be careful, Michael" from Knight Rider was usually dubbed "Seien Sie vorsichtig, Michael" in German, implying both formality (use of Sie) and familiarity (use of first name).

The use of these forms calls for compensating translation of dialogue into English. For example, a character in a French film or novel saying "Tutoie-moi!" ("Use [the informal pronoun] tu when addressing me!") might be translated "Do not be so formal!"

Examples

In many languages, the respectful singular pronoun derives from a plural form. Some Romance languages have familiar forms derived from the Latin singular tu and respectful forms derived from Latin plural vos, sometimes via a circuitous route. Sometimes, singular V-form derives from a third person pronoun. Some languages have separate T and V forms for both singular and plural; others have the same form; others have a T–V distinction only in the singular.

Different languages distinguish pronoun uses in different ways. Even within languages, there are differences between groups (older people and people of higher status tending both to use and to expect more respectful language) and between various aspects of one language. For example, in Dutch, u is slowly falling into disuse in the plural, and thus one could sometimes address a group as jullie (which clearly expresses the plural) when one would address each member individually as u (which has the disadvantage of being ambiguous). In Latin American Spanish, the opposite change has occurred — having lost vosotros, Latin Americans address all groups as ustedes, even if the group is composed of friends whom they would call tú or vos. In Standard Peninsular Spanish, however, vosotros (literally, "you others") is still regularly employed in familiar conversation. In some cases, V-forms are likely to be capitalized when written.

Following is a table of singular and plural versions of the second person plural and singular in many languages. Many of these do not demonstrate T–V distinction in the above sense of the "you" plural being used for "you" singular informal.

	second-person singular familiar	second-person singular respectful	second-person plural familiar	second-person plural respectful
Afrikaans	jy /jou	u U (to God)	julle	u
Albanian	ti	ju	ju	ju
Amharic	አንተ (antä) (m) አንቺ (anči) (f)	እስዎ (ɨsswo) or እርስዎ (ɨrswo)	እናንተ (ɨnnantä)	እስዎ (ɨsswo) or እርስዎ (ɨrswo)
Arabic	أنت (anta, when addressing a man), أنتِ (anti, when addressing a woman)	antum; in some spoken varieties of Arabic, such as Egyptian, terms such as ḥaḍretak (your grace) or siyadtak (your lordship) are used	antum (when addressing men), antunna (when addressing women)	antum / antunna; in some spoken varieties of Arabic, such as Egyptian, terms such as ḥaḍretkum or siyadetkum are used
Armenian	դու (du) Eastern dialect, դուն (tun) Western dialect	դուք (duk) Eastern (tuk) Western	դուք (duk) Eastern (tuk) Western	դուք (duk) Eastern (tuk) Western
Azerbaijani (Azeri)	sən	siz	siz	siz, sometimes sizlər
Basque	hi (very close), zu	zu, berori (very respectful)	zuek	zuek
Bengali	তুই tui (very informal) তুমি tumi	আপনি apni	তোরা tora (very informal) তোমরা tomra	আপনারা apnara
Bosnian	ti	Vi	vi	vi
Breton	te	c'hwi	c'hwi	c'hwi
Bulgarian	ти (ti)	Вие (Vie)	вие (vie)	вие (vie)
Catalan	tu vós (only to elders)	vostè	vosaltres	vostès
Chinese (Mandarin)	你 nǐ	您 nín	你们 (你们) nǐmen	no official form; often 大家 dàjiā but see below
Croatian	ti	Vi	vi	vi
Czech	ty	Vy	vy	Vy
Danish	du	De	I	De
Dutch	jij /je (more in the Netherlands) or gij/ge (more in Flanders)	u (Capitalised when addressing God, or in very formal writing: U. Alternatively: Gij (to God))	jullie	u
Esperanto	ci (experimental use only), normally vi	vi	vi	vi
Estonian	sina/sa	Teie	teie/te	Teie
Faroese	tú	tygum (restricted to official documents only)	tit	tygum (restricted to official documents only)
Filipino	ka /ikaw	kayo	kayo	sila
Finnish	sinä/sä	Te (compound verb forms with participle in singular)	te	Te
French	tu /toi /te	vous	vous	vous
Frisian (West)	dû/do	jo (Jo when addressing God)	jimme/jim	jimme/jim
Gaelic (Scottish)	thu	sibh	sibh	sibh
Galician	tu, tí	vostede	vós	vostedes
Georgian	შენ shen	თქვენ tkven	თქვენ tkven	თქვენ tkven
German	du	Sie (and third person plural of the verb) Ihr (and second person plural; archaic)	ihr	Sie (and third person plural of the verb) Ihr (and second person plural; archaic)
Modern Greek	εσύ (esí)	εσείς (esís)	εσείς (esís)	εσείς (esís)
Gujarati	તું tu	તમે taame (formal)	તમે taame	તમે taame
Hungarian	te	maga (formal) or Ön (official)	ti	maguk (formal) or Önök (official)
Hindi	तू tū (very informal) तुम tum	आप āp	तुम लोग tum log	आप लोग āp log
Icelandic	þú	þér (archaic)	þið	þér (archaic)
Ido	tu	vu	vi	vi
Indonesian	kamu	Anda	kalian	Anda
Interlingua	tu	vos	vos	vos
Italian	tu	Lei (or lei; archaic form: Ella) voi (dated or Central and Southern Italian dialectal)	voi	voi Loro (or loro; becoming rare)
Japanese	お前, 君, あんた omae, kimi, anta (derogatory: きさま, てめぇ kisama, teme) (archaic: おぬし onushi)	— (directly addressing a person with an honorific suffix after his/her name or using his/her profession); あなた anata (archaic, formal, to address someone below: 汝, そち, そなた nanji, sochi, sonata)	お前たち, 君たち, あんたたち omae-tachi, kimi-tachi, anta-tachi (archaic: おぬしら onushi-ra)	あなたたち, あなた方 anata-tachi, anata-gata (archaic, formal, to address someone below: 汝ら, そちども, そなたたち nanji-ra, sochi-domo, sonata-tachi)
Javanese	kowe, awakmu	panjenengan, sampeyan	kowe kabeh	panjenengan sedanten
Kannada	ನೀನು niinnu	ನೀವು niivu	ನೀವು niivu	ನೀವು niivu
Kazakh	сен (sen)	сіз (siz)	сендер (sender)	сіздер (sizder)
Korean	neo 너	— (directly addressing a person); dangsin 당신 (addressing anonymous readers)	neohui 너의	— (yeoreobun 여러분)
Kung-ekoka	a	i!a	i!a	i!a
Kurdish (North), Kurmanji	تو (tu)	هون (hûn), هنگۆ (hingo), تو (tu)	هون (hûn), هنگۆ (hingo)	هون (hûn), هنگۆ (hingo)
Kurdish (South), Sorani	تۆ (to)	ێوه (êwe), تۆ (to)	ێوه (êwe)	ێوه (êwe)
Kyrgyz	сен (sen)	сиз (siz)	силер (siler)	сиздер (sizder)
Ladino, see Spanish	tú	vos	vozótros	vozótros
Latvian	tu	Jūs	jūs	Jūs
Lithuanian	tu	Ponas, Ponia, Jūs	jūs	Jūs
Lombard	ti	vü; or lüü (male) or lée (female)	viòltar	viòltar; or vü; or lur
Malay	kamu (standard), engkau (regional Malay; common spoken short form is kau – when pronounced as "ko", is even more informal.), hang (northern dialect, but understood and accepted across Peninsula Malaysia), awak (is rude in all contexts except in very close relationships, e.g. friends [but not acquaintances])	anda (polite/friendly formal; found in formal documents and in all formal contexts, e.g. advertisements. "Anda" is almost never encountered in spoken Malay; instead, most Malaysians would address a respected person by his title or name), kamu (impolite/unfriendly formal; also found in formal documents and in all formal contexts, where the intention is to convey a forceful tone in writing – often seen in lawsuits and summonses).	kau orang (when pronounced as "ko'rang" [equivalent to "you all" in parts of the U.S.] is slang and more informal), kau semua, hangpa (northern dialect), kalian (archaic)	anda, kalian (archaic)
Macedonian	ти (ti)	Вие (Vie)	вие (vie)	вие (vie)
Maltese	int, inti	int, inti	intom	intom
Marathi	तू tū	तुम्ही tumhī (formal), आपण Āpaṇ (official)	तुम्ही tumhī (formal), आपण Āpaṇ (official)	तुम्ही tumhī (formal), आपण Āpaṇ (official)
Mongolian	чи (chi)	та (ta)	та нар (ta nar)	та нар (ta nar)
Nepali	तँ, तिमी (tã, timi)	तपाईं (tapāī̃)	तिमी(-हरू) (timi[-harū])	तपाईं(-हरू) (tapāī̃[-harū])
Norwegian (bokmål)	du	De	dere	De
Norwegian (nynorsk)	du	De	de	De
Oriya	tu/ tume	aapano	tumemane	aapanomane
Persian	تو to	شما shomâ	شما shomâ	شما shomâ
Polish	ty	pani (to a woman) pan (to a man) (verbs following any of the above addresses are in the 3rd person singular form) In the early period of the communist rule, a practice of using the second-person plural form wy as a formal way of referring to a single person was introduced (a calque from Russian) but it did not catch on.	wy	państwo (general) panie (to women) panowie (to men) (verbs following any of the above addresses are in the 3rd person plural form, although in many cases for państwo (general) the 2nd person plural form is also possible).
Portuguese (Portugal)	tu vós (regional use)	o senhor/a senhora (more formal) você (less formal — in some regions and/or contexts may even be considered rude) vós (archaic and literary) Vossa Excelência, Vossa Senhoria (authorities); Vossa Majestade/Alteza Imperial e Real/V. M. Fidelíssima El-Rei Dom, Infante, Príncipe Regente, Dom/Dona, Ilustríssimo, Vossa Graça (former monarchy)	vocês vós (archaic, literary, or regional)	os senhores/as senhoras
Portuguese (Brazil)	você (from vossa mercê) tu	o senhor, o cavalheiro/a senhora, a madame seu (from senhor)/dona, madame você (less formal than the former in some regions) vós (archaic and literary) Vossa Excelência or Vossa S.ª, Meritíssimo Juiz (State authorities); Vossa Magnificência (Head of a university, rector, dean); Vossa Majestade/Alteza Imperial, Dom, Ilustríssimo, Vossa Graça (former Brazilian monarchy and aristocratic rank), Honorável, Vossa Eminência/Reverência/Reverendíssima (other usage)	vocês vós (archaic and literary)	os senhores/as senhoras os cavalheiros/as damas vós (archaic and literary) vocês (regional)
Punjabi (Punjab)	ਤੂੰ tū̃	ਤੁਸੀਂ tusī̃	ਤੁਸੀਂ tusī̃	ਤੁਸੀਂ tusī̃
Romanian	tu	dumneata (less formal) / matale (regional) / dumneavoastră (formal)	voi	dumneavoastră / domniile voastre (archaic)
Russian	ты (ty)	вы (vy) / Вы (Vy) (addressing officials in letters etc.)	вы (vy)	вы (vy)
Rusyn	ты (tŷ)	Bы (Vŷ)	вы (vŷ)	вы (vŷ)
Scots	thoo, mostly replaced by ye [ðuː], Southern [ðʌu], Shetland [duː]	ye, you	ye, you	ye, you
Serbian	ти (ti)	Ви (Vi)	ви (vi)	ви (vi)
Slovak	ty	Vy	vy	vy
Slovene	ti	vi Vi (protocolar)	vidva (dual) vidve or vedve (dual – when addressing two women); vi (plural) ve (plural – when addressing only women)	vi (dual and plural)
Sorbian (Lower)	ty	Wy	wej (dual), wy (plural)	wy
Sorbian (Upper)	ty	Wy	wój (dual), wy (plural)	wy
Somali	adi	adiga	idinka	idinka
Spanish in Peninsular Spain, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco	tú	usted (formerly or literary vos, usía and vuecencia/vuecelencia among others)	vosotros (masc.) vosotras (fem.)	ustedes
Spanish in some parts of Andalusia and in the Canary Islands	tú	usted	ustedes (in Andalusia sometimes it is heard an altered system: e.g.: ustedes estáis; the vosotros/as pronouns are increasingly popular and replacing this one)	ustedes
Spanish of most of the Americas	tú	usted Note: in Cuba, tú is generally used instead, even for someone one has just met.	ustedes	ustedes (literary vosotros, vosotras, in poetry, anthems...)
Spanish in parts of the Americas, mainly in the Southern Cone and Central America	vos	usted	ustedes	ustedes (literary vosotros, vosotras, in poetry, anthems...)
Spanish in Costa Rica and in parts of Colombia	usted ('el otro usted': for informal, horizontal communication)	usted	ustedes	ustedes (literary vosotros, vosotras, in poetry, anthems...)
Swedish	du	ni or Ni (rarely used)	ni	ni or Ni (rarely used)
Tagalog	ikáw ka (postpositive only)	kayó	kayó	kayó
Tajik	ту (tu)	Шумо (Shumo)	шумо (shumo)	шумо (shumo) or шумоён (shumoyon)(the latter is used in Spoken Tajik only)
Tamil	நீ (née)	நீங்கள் (neengal)	நீங்கள் (neengal)	நீங்கள் (neengal)
Telugu	నువ్వు (nuvvu)	మీరు (meeru)	మీరు (meeru)	మీరు (meeru)
Turkish	sen	siz	siz	siz, sizler
Ubykh	wæghʷa	sʸæghʷaalha	sʸæghʷaalha	sʸæghʷaalha
Ukrainian	ти (ty)	ви (vy) / Ви (Vy) (addressing officials in letters etc.)	ви (vy)	ви (vy)
Urdu	تو tū (very informal) تم tum	آپ āp	تم لوگ tum log	آپ لوگ āp log
Uyghur	سەن sen	سىز siz or سىلى sili	سىلەر siler	سىزلەرsizler
Welsh	ti or chdi	chi or chwi	chi or chwi	chi or chwi
Yiddish	דו (du)	איר (ir)	איר (ir) עץ (ets) (regional)	איר (ir)

Language-specific remarks

Germanic languages

English

See also: Thou and You

Old English had no distinction between the formal and informal second person singular, expressed as "thou". In the 13^th century, the term "ye" or "you", previously the second person plural, was used as a formal singular version of "thou" (to superiors or non-intimates), with "thou" used as the familiar, informal form. However, this use was often contextually-dependent (i.e., changing dynamically according to shifting nuances in the relationship between two people), rather than static. By the 17th century, "thou" increasingly acquired connotations of contemptuous address, or of addressing one's social inferiors (so the prosecutor in Sir Walter Raleigh's 1603 trial declaimed "I thou thee, thou traitor!"). Accordingly, the frequency of use of "thou" started to decline, and it was effectively extinct in the everyday speech of many dialects by the early 18th century, supplanted by "you", which became both the singular and plural form. The Quakers could still cause huge offence by addressing all individuals as "thou" for religious reasons (and refusing to remove hats or bow). Its use is now archaic except in certain regional dialects (for example in South Yorkshire) usually as "tha", and Modern English today makes no T–V distinction.

The use of the term "thou", however, survives in some Christian liturgical language when addressing God, most notably in popular translations of the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments. It is also found in liturgical dialogue (for example, "V. The Lord be with you R. And with thy spirit."). This is not an indication of familiarity but retention of the original distinction between singular "thou/thee/thy" and plural "ye/you/your", reflecting the corresponding singular and plural Greek forms in the original texts.

In Latter-day Saint prayer tradition, the terms "thee" and "thou" are often used to address God as a mark of respect.

Originally "ye" and "thou" were nominative pronouns, while "you" and "thee" were objective forms, but by the 15th century, "you" had started being used as a subject pronoun, and only "thee" survived into Quaker "Plain Speech".

Scots

In Modern Scots the second person singular nominative thoo ([ðuː], Southern Scots [ðʌu], Shetlandic [duː]) survived in colloquial speech until the mid 19th century in most of lowland Scotland but has since been replaced by ye/you in most areas except in Insular Scots where thee ([ðiː], Shetlandic [diː]) is also used, in North Northern Scots and in some Southern Scots varieties. Thoo is used as the familiar form by parents speaking to children, elders to youngsters, or between friends or equals. The second person formal singular ye or you is used when speaking to a superior or when a youngster addresses an elder. The older second person singular possessive thy ([ðai]), and thee ([ði], Shetlandic [diː] along with thine(s) [dəin(z)]) still survive to some extent where thoo remains in use.

Frisian

In Frisian, the formal singular nominative jo (pronounced yo) is very close to the English you and the Middle and Early Modern English ye. In some parts of eastern Germany, the plural familiar nominative is jöch instead of euch; the former is much closer to its English counterpart.

Dutch

Dutch has three forms of second person pronouns, namely u, gij and jij. In the case of gij/jij, ge/je are its unstressed variants (whereas jou is the accusative of jij and – confusingly – u also serves as the accusative of gij). Corresponding possessive pronouns are uw and jouw (or je in its unstressed form). In Dutch, the T–V distinction is difficult as it relies mainly on (personal) status.

U is the formal pronoun used in all Dutch speaking regions, whereas jij or gij are used as the informal personal pronouns to address someone. The choice between jij or gij varies from region to region. Jij is preferred in writing in both the Netherlands and Belgium, but when speech is concerned speakers in the Netherlands tend to use jij and Dutch-speakers in Belgium tend to use gij. The southern part of the Netherlands (mainly Brabant) also uses gij, but not when addressing people from outside Brabant, as the majority of the Netherlands uses jij. Religious Dutch speakers address God using either Gij or U; jij is never used.

The pronoun je can also be used impersonally, corresponding to the English generic you. The more formal Dutch term corresponding to English generic you or one is men.

In Dutch the formal personal pronoun is used for older people or for people with a higher or equal status, unless the addressed makes it clear he wants to be spoken to with the informal pronoun. Unlike for example in German, there is no defined line (in the case of German, roughly when someone passes the age of 16) in which everyone, apart from family, is addressed with the formal pronoun. A Dutch speaker might be addressed by jij by his cousin, but u by his children, although many people use jij to address their parents (and jij is sometimes even used to address grandparents).

Afrikaans

Modern Afrikaans rarely makes the distinction between the informal "jy" and "jou" ("you" subject and "your" / "you" object) and the more formal "u" (or "U" when addressing God), although sometimes it is upheld in a formal setting, such as in politics, business or in a polite conversation. The trend is moving towards using the informal pronoun most often.

German

Sie and du

In German, the respectful form is the same as the third person plural (sie), rather than the second person plural (which in German is ihr). The second person sense is always capitalized (Sie) in writing, as well as its accusative and dative forms, to avoid any ambiguity. Danish and, through Danish, Norwegian, have adopted this German third person plural model. Verbs used with this form of address are also identical to third person plural forms. In requests and demands, it is considered good manners to combine Sie not only with bitte (please) but also with the subjunctive mood, for example: Würden Sie bitte das Fenster schließen? (Would you please close the window?) instead of Schließen Sie bitte das Fenster! (Please close the window).

The corresponding informal German address is du. The verbs duzen and siezen mean respectively "to thou" and "to address using you" and the phrases per du or auf du und du mean, "to be on du terms". In general terms, Sie is used with persons who would be addressed in English with Mr. or Ms., while du is used as soon as one progresses to first-name terms. In Internet chats and forums, however, Germans rarely use Sie, although there are exceptions. Sometimes, switching back to Sie is used as a method of distancing oneself from the addressee. The connotation is slightly ironic courtesy.

When speaking to more than one person in formal situations, Sie is used in standard German, although ihr can often be heard instead, especially in the South of Germany.

In northern Germany, there is an intermediate address combining Sie with the first name ("Hamburger Sie"), whereas in the Berlin region, sometimes Du is combined with the surname ("Berliner Du"). The former usage also occurs when addressing teenagers, household staff, or guests of TV or radio programs, while the latter style is usually considered inferior and mainly occurs in working class environments. It may be associated with professional contexts, when colleagues have known one another for a long time, but, e. g. due to differences of status, do not want to switch to the usual Du style; or in situations where strangers (e.g. customers) are present for whom it would not be appropriate to learn the first name of the addressee.

Generally it can be said that everyone up to the age of sixteen can be addressed as du without problems, with a tendency to start addressing children with Sie at the age of fourteen in East Germany, while West Germans tend towards delaying this until the teens are 18. High school students in Germany are often called Sie by their teachers when they enter the Oberstufe – the last 2 or 3 years of high school – around the age of 16 or 17. However, many students do not mind if their teacher confuses du and Sie, especially if the teacher and the student have already known each other before the beginning of the Oberstufe. In most circumstances, adults should at first always be called Sie. However there are many exceptions; for instance, university students nowadays always address each other with du (except for some fraternities who deliberately adopt a so-called 'Siez-Comment'), as do members of the parties on the political left. Children and teenagers are expected to address all adults who are not family members or family friends whom the child has known since it was very young, as Sie. Street and similar social workers will usually, sports clubs trainers will sometimes tell children and teens to address them with du. In shops, bars, and other establishments, if they target a younger audience, it is becoming increasingly common for customers and staff to address each other as du, to the degree that it is sometimes considered awkward if a waitress and a customer who are both in their twenties call each other Sie.

Usage varies in the German-speaking world when addressing a group containing both du and Sie persons from the speaker's point of view. Some speakers use the informal plural ihr, others prefer the formal Sie and many, concerned that both pronouns might cause offence, prefer to use circumlocutions which avoid either pronoun.

In Germany, an old custom (called Brüderschaft trinken, drinking brotherhood) involves two friends formally sharing a bottle of wine or drinking a glass of beer together to celebrate their agreement (initially proposed by the elder or socially higher-standing of the two, or by the lady to the gentleman) to call one another du rather than Sie. This custom has also been adopted among the Swiss-French of the Jura, and in Poland (called by its German name, bruderszaft), though the custom in Poland is now slowly disappearing. It was formerly found also in Sweden.

It is also a custom to propose the use of du rather than Sie by stating one's first name (as in: Ich heiße...). One accepts the proposal by introducing one's own first name. Should a person later forget that they have adopted du, it is polite to remind them by saying, Wir waren doch per du (We moved on to 'du' terms).

Historical predecessors: Ihr and Er/Sie

Formerly, the 2nd person plural Ihr ("ye") was used to address social superiors, unless more informal relations had been established. "Ihr" in this case has to be capitalized. However, Ihr itself shows a degree of informality, and would for example be used in addressing one's father. For the formal address, the third person would be used; and this in the singular with Er, Sie (capitalized) to a social inferior, as a farmer addressing a stableboy, or in the plural to a social superior. It is from the latter occurrences that modern "Sie" takes its origin; "Sie" is the 3rd person plural pronoun. However, "Sie" itself is relatively young, and it was rather the formal addresses, often itself singular forms, that took the plural. Even as late as in Dürrenmatt's "The Visit", an address "Das wissen Herr Bürgermeister schon" ("You do know that, Mr. Mayor", modern German would just say "Das wissen Sie schon") can be found; Herr Bürgermeister is the formal address and itself a singular term, but wissen is plural. However, if the formal address itself contains a personal pronoun as in "Seine Majestät" (His Majesty) etc., this one would be put to the 2nd person plural: "Was geruhen Euer (not: Seine) Majestät zu befehlen?" ("What does [but plural] Your Majesty condescend to order?")

Thus, all these go by a similar grammar rule pertaining to the verb used with these addresses as modern Sie. The dated capitalized address Ihr demands the same verb form as the modern second person plural pronoun ihr, the dated Er/Sie demands the same verb form as the modern third person singular er and sie, and the dated 3rd person plural address without "Sie" demands, just as "Sie" itself, the same verb form as the 3rd person plural pronoun "sie" (they).

The forms are still found today in some dialects as a respectful way of addressing elders, and is still very often found in works of art and literature (such as books and movies) depicting events at least several centuries in the past, or in a "past-like" fantasy setting, even if modern German is otherwise used in these works; indeed, using the modern Sie in such a setting would be considered an out-of-place anachronism. "Ihr" and the 3rd person plural without "Sie" is somewhat analogous to the English majestic plural.

The "Er, Sie" form is not widely known or understood by the average person any more.

Yiddish

Yiddish makes use of the second person plural form as the polite form for both singular and plural. In the second person plural form איר (ir), there is therefore no distinction between formal and informal forms. There is a pronoun עץ (ets) strictly for informal second-person form, but this pronoun is rarely used.

Given that old German dialects were the main influence on the development of the Yiddish language, this form may be recognized with older polite forms of the German language.

Norwegian

In Norwegian, the polite form "De"/"Dem" (Bokmål) and "De"/"Dykk" (Nynorsk) is rarely heard in spoken language. Norwegians almost exclusively use du in their daily life. De is practically exclusively used in written works, business letters, theatrical plays and translations where an impression of formality must be retained. A popular saying is that "De" is reserved for the king; this, however, would be incorrect according to royal etiquette, which requires that the King (and other members of the royal family) be referred to "Deres majestet" (bokmål)/"Dykkar majestet" (nynorsk) (Your majesty) or in the third person singular as "Hans majestet" (His majesty), "Hennes majestet" (Her majesty), "Kongen" (the King), "Dronningen" (the Queen) or the like.

However, it should be mentioned that Norwegians also generally refer to one another by first name only unless the person is better known by full or last name only, putting this weakening of the courteous pronoun into a general pattern of declining use of polite speech (for town dwellers), or of a return to traditions of the near past (for country-dwellers). For example, a student might address his professor John Doe, not as "Mr./Dr. Doe", but as "John", but would refer to the president of the US as "Obama", not "Barack". Norwegian politicians and celebrities are sometimes referred to by their first names, especially in newspaper headlines, while the text of the article most likely would use the person's last name. Nicknames are not very common.

As the distinction between Bokmål and Nynorsk exists primarily for written Norwegian (most Norwegians speak dialects which in some degree differ from written language), the T–V rules are the same for both forms - except that Bokmål uses the third person plural to indicate politeness (as in German), while Nynorsk uses the second person plural (as in French). In both forms, when these pronouns are used to indicate politeness, they are always capitalised (to show deference, and separate them from when they indicate, respectively, the third and second person plural).

Swedish

In Swedish, there has in the last two centuries been a marked difference between usage in Finland Swedish and in Sweden.

In Finland Swedish, the second person plural form Ni (noted as formal above) was indeed the traditional respectful address to a single person up to the 1970s or so.

In the Swedish of Sweden, the polite Ni was known from earlier epochs, but had come to be considered somewhat careless, bullying or rude; instead, an intricate system had evolved in order to prudently step around pronouns almost altogether:

• addressing in third person singular adding title and (second) name was considered proper and respectful in most cases. But with persons of higher standing, say a doctor, count or managing director, there arose the question when to use that title only and when to precede it with a herr ('mister' or, in this connection, 'sir'); not doubling such titles could be very rude unless you were on somewhat informal terms.
  A woman, married to a husband with a specific title, was addressed using the feminine form of her husband's title as a matter of course. This created its own set of problems as more and more women acquired professional titles of their own.
• If you were somewhat acquainted and not too far apart in rank and age, you could then drop the name and use the title only—with the same problem of single or double title as above.
• surname without title was considered proper between friends not too close and for a superior to his subordinate or someone of similar rank. That was also customary in male brotherhoods like between students.
• Below that on the social scale, both among peers and from above, was the third person singular pronoun only (han 'he', less often hon 'she'). That was more usual in the countryside; considered rustic by "educated" people, but fitting towards e.g. an old fisher- or woodman.
• Simple folks of venerable age could be properly addressed far ('father';less usual) and mor ('mother') plus Christian name, both by their own and by superiors.
  The sex difference in the two addresses above was caused mainly by the hon ('she') being felt as too direct, maybe a covert insult or sign of doubt as to the addressee's decency. If she was a farmwife or the like, she could be called mor etc. even if young; otherwise, one had to make do with the nearest-fitting other way of addressing.
• A master could address his servant, or a farmer his farmhand, by Christian name for pronoun; that was more common between females, as the female world was generally more confined, but restricted between the sexes unless the social gap was very wide.
• A subordinate, in each case, answered by using the superior's title or titles or, in private, the informal term for his rank (e.g. herrn, patron).
• Kinship term plus Christian name, still never alternating with pronoun, was proper in private to nearer older relatives.
• The second person singular du was used only to and between children, within a married couple, between lovers or to a more or less voluntary mistress of lower standing, and between friends who had druckit duskål ('toasted for thou', as it were; infinitive dricka duskål) with each other—of course initiated by the elder or higher-ranked party. Again, the custom could be somewhat more relaxed among women—at least the toast itself was usually dispensed with. Then, du could be used to insult a tramp or the like.

Parts of this system began to erode around the Second World War or so, but the essentials held up into the 1960s.

In the province of Dalarna (Dalecarlia), however, and in a few other remote places with few upper class people, the du/ni distinction had remained one of number only; possibly, children addressed their parents with far (Father) and mor (Mother) also when du would otherwise have been more logical.
In some other remote places, the ni survived as both second person plural pronoun and polite address—to elders, including one's parents, not classified with "better people"—but in its older form I. In standard Swedish, that form had become archaic and solemn well before the 20th century. (I is always capitalized, not out of respect but to avoid confusion with the preposition i ('in').)

As the twentieth century progressed, this circumlocutive system of addressing, with its innumerable ambiguities and opportunities for unintentional offence, was increasingly felt as a nuisance. An early way out was to carry the circumlocutions one-degree further—finding impersonal ways of saying what was needful, avoiding both personal pronoun and title. (Får det lov att vara en kopp kaffe?, approximately 'Would a cup of coffee be allowed, please?'; Så det är till att resa?, approximately 'So, it is about travelling?'). However, that soon proved of little avail. For one thing, you still had to address the person you talked with directly from time to time in the conversation, otherwise you would really have sounded impolite—and over time, it became de rigueur to do so more and more often, until it was a system with both longish titles used instead of personal pronouns and impersonal circumlocutions; and for another, the impersonal constructions soon acquired their own gradations, to be observant upon—e.g., that in the second example above being perceived as more and more rustic, ending up rude.
Then in the 'sixties, things happened fast. First, authorities and influential circles tried rehabilitating the Ni in a so-called "ni reform"—but most people could not bring themselves to feel civil using that. Then, almost overnight and dubbed the "du reform", the system broke down and du (noted as informal above) became the accepted way of addressing any one person except royalty.

• Only slightly less accepted is the use of Christian name also when addressing an unknown person (Daniel, Pia, etc.). Some people try to avoid the name altogether when speaking to an unknown (older) person, a representative of authority or the like, but the pronoun is still du.
• Addressing royalty went somewhat more slowly from a universal Ers majestät ('Your Majesty'), etc., to that address only on formal occasions, otherwise replaced by third person (singular if the addressee is single) with title (K(on)ungen 'the King', etc.).

These rules still apply, with marginal exceptions.

In a few circles of younger people, mostly in the larger cities, the use of the extinct Ni for polite address has gained ground again—notably among some shop assistants and waiters for addressing customers in shops and guests in restaurants.. It may also occur that a young person cannot bring him- or herself to address a venerable (and perhaps upper-class) old person du, and then takes recourse to the ni. In addition, Ni has become a fashionable address in some circles of younger businessmen. But whether this is a fashion, coquettery on some parts, a sign of uncertainty in a time of social change, or a beginning of something, is much too early to say. The vast majority of Swedes, including younger people in most or all situations, stick to the du as of this writing (2007).

In order to "alleviate the intrusion" in writing, e.g. in letters or in advertisement, the Du can be capitalized. That usage was most widespread in the early days of universal du address; it has become slightly more common again simultaneously with the partial Ni revival.

Finland-Swedish has undergone a similar development to mainland Swedish since the 1960s, but slower and slightly less. There, one may have to reckon with influence from the Finnish language, still slightly more conservative.

Swedish, also, has verbs for the addresses: dua 'to say du ', and nia 'to say ni '.

Danish

In Danish, the use of the formal forms of address has diminished significantly over the last twenty years. De is still used in the written language, in official letters and the like. However, in most cases, the spoken form is du; a notable exception being with members of the royal family. Even during debates in the Folketing (the Danish parliament), members almost always address each other as du.

De must be written with a capital "D". For example, a letter from the Inspector of Taxes inviting you a meeting to go through last year's tax return will use De, but during the meeting itself, everyone will say du. Waiters might very occasionally use De, but this is unexpectedly formal.

In general, say du to one person, and I to more than one. Write du if you know the name of the person to whom you are writing and De if you do not.

The word de with the small "d" is the third-person plural pronoun – cognate to "they."

Icelandic

In modern Icelandic, the formal second person pronoun (þér or Þér for both singular and plural) is archaic. Today, it is used only on rare occasions when one intends to be extremely formal or when one wants to treat another person with contempt or create/maintain distance between the parties. The formal pronoun is sometimes used in translations from a language that adheres to them, in formalized official correspondence and court proceedings. Some phrases such as excuse me (afsakið mig) and please mark your luggage (vinsamlegast merkið farangur yðar) are still commonly used with the formal second person pronoun and traditional sayings such as seek and you shall find (leitið og þér munuð finna).

Romance languages

French

In most French-speaking regions (Canada is an exception; see "North American French" below), a rigid T–V distinction is upheld. With regard to the second person singular, tu is used informally, whereas vous is used to convey formality. (The second person plural is always vous.) The formal vous is expected when encountering any unknown adult under normal circumstances. In general, the switch from vous to tu is "negotiated" on a case-by-case basis; it can happen nearly unconsciously, or can be explicitly negotiated. For instance, some couples have been known to call each other vous for some time while dating, and gradually switch to calling each other tu. The verb tutoyer means "address someone with tu-forms, speak informally"; by contrast vouvoyer means "address someone with vous forms". Rigidly sticking to vous can become equally awkward in a long-standing relationship.

In certain circumstances, however, tu is used more broadly. For example, new acquaintances who are conscious of having something socially significant in common (e.g., student status, or the same "rank" in some hierarchy) often use tu more or less immediately. In some cases, there may be an explicitly defined practice in a particular company, political party, as to the use of tu and vous. Also, using the vous in conjunction with someone's given name is rather current in France as a less formal way of addressing someone, e.g. at work, among members of an association etc. Children and adolescents generally use tu to speak with someone of their own age, whether known or not. Tu can also be used to show disrespect to a stranger, such as when surprising a thief or cursing other drivers on the road.

Vous may be used to distance oneself from a person one does not want to interact with. Additionally, two people who use tu in their private interactions may consciously switch back to vous in public in order to act appropriately in a formal or professional environment, to play the part in an artificially constructed situation (e.g., co-hosts of a television show), or simply to conceal the nature of their relationship from others.

In families, vous was traditionally used to address older family members. Children were taught to use vous to address their parents, and vous was used until about 1950 between spouses of the higher classes. Former president Jacques Chirac and his wife Bernadette are a prominent example of the continuation of this usage.

When praying, tu is nowadays often used in addressing the deity, though vous was used in Catholic prayers until the Second Vatican Council, and is still used to address the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Louisiana, however, vous is always used to convey a sense of respect and reverence when praying.

Sources:

• "Mastering the Unmasterable: A French Puzzle" Mary Blume, International Herald Tribune, February 19, 2000
• "Dites-moi tu" Sophie Balbo, L'Hebdo, June 23, 2005

Belgian French

In Belgian French, usage is mostly identical to that in Standard French. However, linguistic interference from Dutch and the Walloon language can influence the speech of those who have these as their first languages:

• Flemings who are native-speakers of Dutch have a tendency when speaking French to use tu in as wide a range of contexts (both familiar and formal) as they do the jij / je of Dutch. A tu used in formal circumstances — which from a native French speaker would normally be taken as a sign of deliberate rudeness — will be "forgiven" when uttered by a native Dutch speaker (as identified by his or her accent).
• In Walloon, the use of which tends, in any case, to be restricted mostly to "familiar" contexts, vos (=vous) is the general usage and is considered informal and friendly. Ti (=tu), on the other hand, is considered vulgar, and its use can be taken as an expression of an aggressive attitude towards the person addressed. This influence from Walloon affects the usage of tu and vous in the French spoken in Belgium, though more so among people accustomed to using Walloon as their everyday language (a tiny minority, mostly in the countryside). The influence of Standard French, particularly as exercised through the mass media, is eroding this particularity amongst younger French-speakers.

North American French

North American dialects of French, including Quebec French and Acadian French as well as Louisiana Cajun and Creole French, permit and expect a far broader usage of the familiar tu than in Standard French. There are still circumstances in which it is appropriate to say vous: in a formal interview (notably for a job) or when addressing people of very high rank (such as judges or prime ministers), senior citizens, customers or new acquaintances in a formal setting. As acquaintances become familiar with one another, they may find vous to be unnecessarily formal and may agree to return to the tu with which they are generally more comfortable.

For a number of Francophones in Canada, vous sounds stilted or snobbish, and archaic. Tu is by no means restricted to intimates or social inferiors. There is however an important minority of people, often those who call for a use of standard French in Quebec, who prefer to be addressed as vous. At Radio-Canada (the public broadcaster, often considered as establishing the normative objectives of standard French in Canada), the use of vous is widespread even among colleagues.

Catalan

Catalan vós follows the same concordance rules as the French vous (verbs in second person plural, adjectives in singular), and vostè follows the same concordance rules as the Spanish usted (verbs in 3rd person). Vostè originated from vostra mercè as a calque from Spanish, and replaced the original Catalan form vós.

In some dialects of Catalan, vós is no longer used. Other dialects have a three-way distinction tu/vós/vostè, where vós is used as a respectful form for elders and respected friends, and vostè for foreigners and people whom one does not know well. Vostè is more distant than vós.

Spanish

Further information: [[:Spanish dialects and varieties]]

In Spanish, the respectful form requires verbs to be conjugated in the third person singular; this is because the form usted evolved from the title vuestra merced (your grace) which naturally took the third person like the Portuguese você. In some cases, if a younger person speaks to someone who is relatively older, the younger of the pair will address the elder with usted, perhaps combining it with Don. However, an altered form of vuestra merced, su merced (which in colloquial language has been phonetically reduced to sumercé), has survived in the rural areas located in the plateau that surrounds Colombia's capital city, Bogotá.

In the plural, Spanish presents the T-form vosotros and the V-form ustedes , which use verbs in the second and third person plural, respectively. However, only mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands have retained this distinction, while in the Canaries and Latin America, ustedes is almost the only form used in all contexts. In Western Andalusia and parts of Extremadura, ustedes is frequently used as well, but combined with the verb forms corresponding to vosotros in standard European Spanish.

T–V merge

In most dialects, close friends are referred to as tú, and venerable old women are usted, but there is a wide grey area in the middle. Even that is not universally true: in the Spanish dialects of some parts of Latin America (for example, in many parts of Colombia, Guatemala, and Costa Rica as well as Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico), tú is almost never used, not even with close friends or relatives, which are usted. The T and V-forms have merged into usted. Conversely, the T and V-forms are converging to tú and vosotros in Spain.

T–V plural split

Traditionally in some parts of Andalusia and in all of the Canary Islands the second person plural pronoun has been ustedes both for respectful and familiar address. However this system is being replaced by the T–V distinction of peninsular Spain, i.e. vosotros and vosotras are increasingly being used for familiar address.

Vos and tú

Further information: [[:voseo]]

In the Rioplatense Spanish variant used in most of Argentina and Uruguay the T-form is vos; in other parts, for example in Chile and Central America, vos is used in the spoken language and tú in print or formal contexts (although most formal contexts call for the respectful V-form, usted). The use of tú as the preferred T-form has its highest prevalence in Spain, as well as Mexico and Peru.

The history behind tú-vos-usted is that for a time all three forms existed in Spain including during the colonization of the Americas. In most of Spain the vos form died out and is now largely regarded as an archaic expression and this attitude has been adopted in most of Mexico, Peru, and other countries.

Portuguese

See also: Portuguese personal pronouns

European Portuguese

In European Portuguese (as well as in Africa and Asia), tu (singular "you") is commonly used as the informal addressing pronoun, while você is used in formal or semi-formal situations; vós (plural of "tu") is used only for informal situations while vocês (plural of "você") is used for both formal and informal speech. The forms o senhor and a senhora (plurals os senhores and as senhoras) are used for the most formal situations (roughly equivalent to "mister" and "mistress".) Similarly to some Romance languages (e.g. Italian), European Portuguese often omits "tu" (Portuguese informal) or "você/ o senhor" (Portuguese formal), since the verb conjugation (second- or third-person) already points to informality or formality respectively. The omission of "você" (Brazilian informal) or "o senhor" (Brazilian formal) cannot be practised in Brazilian Portuguese as often as in European Portuguese , since both demand third-person conjugation of verbs.

However, there is considerable regional variation in the use of these terms, and more specific forms of address are sometimes employed like Vossa Excelência, for instance.

Historically, você derives from vossa mercê ("your mercy" or "your grace") via the intermediate forms vossemecê and vosmecê; compare with the derivation of Spanish usted from vuestra merced. For that reason, você and vocês require verbs conjugated in the third person, rather than the second person. Although, only in very informal conversation, that conjugation is wrongly changed for tu form (second-person singular) in Imperative mood.

The second person plural pronoun vós, from Latin vos, is regionally used in Portugal for informal situations as an alternative to "vocês". The use of "vós" as a formal second person singular pronoun has fallen into disuse in all but a few regional dialects of Northern Portugal, where it expresses an intermediate degree of formality between tu and você(s). This use is kept as an archaism in literature (historical setting), prayer (when addressing a deity, Blessed Virgin Mary, etc.) or exaggerated (mocking) ceremonial.

Brazilian Portuguese

In Brazilian Portuguese, você and vocês (singular and plural "you", respectively) are used informally, while o senhor and a senhora ("Mr"/"Sir" and "Mrs"/"Madam", plurals os senhores and as senhoras) are used in formal speech.

In many parts of the country (the state of Rio Grande do Sul, some parts of the City of Rio de Janeiro, and the northern and northeastern states and in the City of Santos (São Paulo)) tu (singular "you") is used informally, but the plural form is always vocês. However, in colloquial conversation, the pronoun tu is commonly used with the verb conjugated as "você" (third-person singular).

Italian

In Italian the formal second-person singular pronoun is Lei which means "she", used with the third-person singular of the verb, as opposed to the informal tu, used with the second-person singular. For the background to the use of "she" as a polite pronoun, see the section "History" below.

It is also possible to use Ella as a very polite alternative, but this is perceived as archaic, since in spoken Italian the nominative forms of the personal pronouns egli ("he"), essi/esse ("they") and ella ("she") have fallen out of common use, being replaced by the accusative forms lui ("him"), loro ("them") and lei ("her").

Lei may be capitalized as a sign of respect, particularly in administrative or business correspondence; if the pronoun is capitalized, so are all its forms, including the enclitics: "...vorrei incontrarLa per parlarGliene" ("...I should like to meet you to talk to you about this").

Lei is nowadays generally concorded with the gender of the addressee; it might actually not be present in sentences as Italian is not subject-compulsory, and is then understood by the verb being conjugated in the third person.

• "Have you ever been in Rome?"
  • "[Lei] è mai stato a Roma?" (-o: to a male)
  • "[Lei] è mai stata a Roma?" (-a: to a female; rarely to a male, in a literary or archaic style).

The polite plural form Loro ("they"), followed by a verb in the third-person plural, is rarely used nowadays. Voi ("you", plural) is normally used both in informal and formal contexts when addressing more than one person. A situation where Loro can still be heard is in restaurants, because many waiters still use this form to address customers. A waiter might even use as a more formal alternative to the pronoun Lei the terms il signore/la signora (the gentleman/the lady), and for the pronoun Loro the corresponding plurals i signori/le signore.

• "What do you [plural] wish to eat?"
  • "Che cosa desiderate mangiare?" (voi is understood)
  • "Che cosa desiderano mangiare?" (Loro is understood)
  • "Che cosa desiderano mangiare i signori/le signore?" ("What do the gentlemen/ladies wish to eat?")

In administrative correspondence and on very formal invitations, la S.V. may be written instead of the pronoun Lei: "La S.V. è invitata...". The abbreviation stands for la Signoria Vostra "Your Lordship/Ladyship", which is the historical basis for the use of the third-person feminine pronoun (see also below).

Lei is normally used in formal settings, or with strangers, and it is used reciprocally between adults: the usage may not be reciprocal when young people address older strangers or otherwise respected people. Students are addressed with tu by their teachers until the end of high school with few exceptions, and usually with lei in universities. Students might use tu with their teachers in elementary school, but switch to lei from middle school.

Currently, people tend to address strangers of their own age using the informal tu until about thirty years of age. Tu is also the pronoun of first choice to address strangers on the Internet. In some professional circles (notably among journalists and lawyers), the tu-form is used immediately even on first meeting, as a sign of recognition of a colleague's status as a member of the same profession. In written correspondence, however, the pronoun will usually be capitalized (Tu) to express also respect towards somebody who is not a close friend.

Voi ("you", plural) may be used by some speakers instead of lei, especially in Southern Italy, but it sounds old-fashioned. When it is addressed respectfully to one person, the pronoun voi is used with singular adjectives and participles, concorded with the gender of the addressee, although the verbs are still in the second-person plural form; as with lei, it can be capitalized in writing. Some people might see this use of voi as reminiscent of the Fascist regime, since it imposed the use of voi instead of lei (see below); but the pronoun had been traditional for centuries, and was used for example by children to address parents, as it was less formal than lei. Voi can be found in instruction booklets, where it is more common than tu, lei or impersonal constructions, and sometimes in advertisements (together with tu, while lei would sound too distant); but in these settings it is often intended as a plural pronoun rather than a polite form.

History

At the beginning of its history, in the Middle Ages, the Italian language had a tu/voi distinction of formality, as with other Romance languages; in his Divine Comedy (begun in 1307), Dante normally uses tu when talking to the people he meets, but addresses them with voi when he means to show particular respect, for example to his former teacher: "Siete voi qui, ser Brunetto?" ("Are you here, sir Brunetto?").

During the Renaissance the use of Lei as a polite pronoun began, and subsequently spread with some influence from Spanish; the origin of this usage is due to expressions as "Your Lordship/Eminence/Majesty/Holiness/...", where all of these nouns were feminine in gender (Vostra Signoria/Eminenza/Maestà/Santità/...) and referred to in the third-person singular.

For a few centuries (possibly from the 16th century to the first half of the 20th century) there was a three-pronoun system in use, with tu/voi/lei employed with a growing degree of formality; this was very well exemplified in Manzoni's novel The Betrothed (written in 1840–42 and set in 1628–30), where the characters talk using all three pronouns: the usage was often not reciprocal, with several combinations based on age and social status.

In 1938, under Fascist rule, the use of lei as a polite pronoun was banned on nationalistic or puristic grounds, since the use of voi was thought of as "more Italian": the ban lasted only for a few years, until the end of World War II, and left little trace. In some parts of Italy, particularly in Southern Italy, voi had always been preferred as the polite form and continued to be used regionally, while lei definitely prevailed as the only standard V-form.

Romanian

Romanian dumneavoastră when used for the second-person singular formal takes plural verbs but singular adjectives, similar to French vous. It is used roughly in the same manner as in Continental French and shows no signs of disappearing. It is also used as a more formal voi. It originates from domnia voastră – your lordship. As it happens with all subjective pronouns dumneavoastră is many times omitted from sentences, its use being implied by verbs in the second person plural form.

The form dumneata (originating from domnia ta – thy lordship) is less distant than dumneavoastră and somewhat midway between tu and dumneavoastră. The verb is conjugated, as for tu, in the second person singular form. Older people towards younger people and peers favor Dumneata. Its use is gradually declining.

A more colloquial form of dumneata is mata or even matale or tălică. It is more familiar than tu and is used only in some regions of Romania. It is used only with immediate family members, and is spelled and pronounced the same in all cases, similar to dumneavoastră. It is conjugated in the second-person singular, like tu.

Hellenic languages

Ancient and Hellenistic or Koine Greek

In Ancient Greek, sý (σύ) was the singular, and hymeis (ὑμεῖς) the plural, with no distinction for honorific or familiar. Paul addresses King Agrippa II as sý (Acts 26:2).

Later, hymeís and hēmeís (ἡμεῖς) ("we") became too close in pronunciation, and a new plural seís or eseís (σεις/εσείς) was invented, the initial e (ε) being a euphonic prefix that was also extended to the singular (sý/esý).

Modern Greek

In Modern Greek, εσείς (eseís, second person plural) with second person plural verb conjugation is used as the formal counterpart of εσύ (esý, second person singular) when talking to strangers and elders, although in everyday life it is common to speak to strangers of your age or younger than you using the singular pronoun. In addition, the informal second person singular is used even with older people you are acquainted with, depending on the level of mutual familiarity.

Since the formal εσείς (eseís) starts getting less common outside schools and workplaces, many people often do not know which form to use (because using a formal version might sound too snobbish even to an elder and using the informal version might sound inappropriate to some strangers) and thus prefer to replace verbs with nouns (avoiding the dilemma) until enough information on the counterpart's intentions is gathered in order to choose between formal or informal second person pronoun and verb conjugation. A good rule of thumb is that singular accompanies first names and plural accompanies surnames with title (Mr, Mrs, etc.). Exceptions are rare, for example younger schoolchildren may address their teacher in the plural, title and first name, or an officer may address a soldier in the singular and surname. The faux pas sequence singular-title-surname can often indicate lack of education, of good manners, or of both.

The modern social custom when using the Greek language in Greece is to ask the other person "may we speak in the singular?" in which the other person is expected to answer "yes" and afterwards the discussion continues using the informal εσύ (esý); it is unthinkable for the other person to answer "no" or show preference for plural forms, and for this reason one should not even ask this question to a person of high status, such as a professional. Therefore, asking this question can itself be considered a form of disrespect in some social situations. Likewise, not asking this question and simply using the singular without prior explicit or implicit agreement would also be considered disrespectful in various social contingencies. In other cases, even using the formal plural (without a question) could also be considered offensive. A person being inappropriately addressed in the singular will often indicate their displeasure by insisting on responding in the plural, in a display of irony that may or may not be evident to the other party. A similar social custom exists with the words κύριε (Mr/Sir) and κυρία (Mrs/Madam) which can show both respect and a form of "mock respect" which essentially communicates disapproval, often depending on the voice intonation and the social situation. Overall, the distinction between formal and informal forms of address and when to use each can be quite subtle and not easily discernible by a non-native speaker.

Celtic languages

Scottish Gaelic

In Scottish Gaelic, the informal form of the second-person singular is thu/tu (emphatic: thusa/tusa), used when addressing a person the speaker knows well, or when addressing a person younger or relatively the same age as the speaker. When addressing a superior, an elder, or a stranger, or in conducting business, the form sibh (emphatic: sibhse) is used. (Sibh is also the second person plural). This distinction carries over into prepositional pronouns: for instance, agad and agaibh (at you), riut and ruibh (with you), umad and umaibh (about you), etc., and into possessive pronouns do and ur (your).

Irish

In Irish, the use of sibh as an address to one person has practically died out, and tú is preferred. In Ulster dialect, the priest is traditionally addressed as sibh.

Welsh, Cornish and Breton

Modern Welsh, Cornish and Breton all retain a T-V distinction to varying degrees.

In spoken Welsh, the plural pronoun chi is used when speaking to strangers, elders or superiors whilst ti (or chdi in some parts of the North) is used with friends, close family, animals and children. Ti is also the form used when addressing God. Chwi is an alternative to chi found in very formal literary language.

A similar distinction exists between Cornish singular ty / chy and plural hwy / hwei, but the formal use of the plural is dying out in the modern language.

In Breton second person plural c'hwi is used as a polite form when addressing a single person and the singular te is reserved for informal situations. However, in a large area of central Brittany the singular form has been entirely replaced by c'hwi, as in English.

Balto-Slavic languages

Russian

Russian distinguishes between familiar ty (ты) and respectful vy (вы) — which is also the plural of both forms, used to address a pair or group. (Respectful Vy may be capitalized, while plural vy is not.) Generally, ty is used among friends and relatives, but the usage depends not only on the closeness of the relationship but also on age and the formality of the situation (e.g., work meeting vs. a party). Children always use ty to address each other and are addressed in this way by adults but are taught to address adults with vy. Younger adults typically also address older adults outside the family as vy regardless of intimacy, and may be addressed as ty in return. When talking to each other young people often start with the formal vy but may transition to ty very quickly in an informal situation. Among older people, ty is often reserved for closer acquaintances. Unless there is a substantial difference in age, the choice of the form is symmetric: if A uses ty to address B, then B also uses ty to address A. While people may transition quickly from vy to ty, such transition presumes mutual agreement. Use of ty without consent of the other person is likely to be viewed as poor conduct or even as an insult, particularly if the other party maintains using vy.

Historically, the rules have been in favor of more formal usage; as late as the 19th century, it was accepted in many circles (generally among the more educated) that vy is to be used between close friends, between husband and wife, and when addressing one's parents (but not one's children), all of which situations today would strongly call for using ty.

The choice between ty and vy is closely related, yet sometimes different, from the choice of the addressing format — that is, the selection from the first name, patronymics, last name, and the title to be used when addressing the person. Normally, ty is associated with the informal addressing by first name only (or, even more informally, by the last name only), whereas vy is associated with the more formal addressing format of using the first name together with patronymics (roughly analogous to "title followed by last name" in English) or the last name together with a title (the last name is almost never used together with either of the other two names to address someone, although such combinations are routinely used to introduce or mention someone).

Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian

In Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian (Serbo-Croatian), use of ti is limited to friends and family, and used among children. In any formal use, vi is used only; ti can be used among peers in a workplace but rarely in official documents. It is a common misconception, even among native speakers, that vi is always capitalized when used in formal tone; Vi is capitalized only in direct personal correspondence between two persons.

Bulgarian

Bulgarian distinguishes between familiar ti (ти) and respectful Vie (Вие), although both words literally mean "you". Basically, "ti" is singular and "vie" is plural, but there are some notable exceptions. Ti (pronounced as the "ti" in "timber", and spelled "ти") means singular "you" and implies that you know the individual personally. The word Vie (pronounced as "vie" in "Vietnam") has either plural or singular meaning, depending on context.

When referring to more than one person, the plural vie is used always. For example, "Вие двамата напуснете, моля!" means "You two leave, please!"), and here, although "ti" and "vie" both means "you", "ti" can not be used.

When addressing to one person, if the people talking each other are acquainted then singular "ti" is used, otherwise plural "Vie" should be used. This "singular plural" is usually hard to understand and often people start new acquaintance straight forward with singular "ti", but generally this is considered offensive, rude, or simply not polite. Children are taught to use always "ti" between themselves, unless addressing to more than one child or an unknown adult. One notable rule is that when a conversation between a teacher and a student takes place, then it is imperative the student uses the polite form, but this is not so in the opposite direction.

The grammatically correct spelling of the singular word "Vie" is always with capital "V", whether being the first word in a sentence or not. For example, the sentence "But you are wrong!", if spelled (in Bulgarian) "Но Вие грешите!" (the word "Вие" with capital "В"), it would convey that the speaker is addressing an individual person with a plural, because he/she wants to express a polite, official manner; if spelt "Но вие грешите!" (the second possible Bulgarian translation of "But you are wrong!"), it would then mean that someone is talking to several persons.

Generally, ti is used amongst friends and relatives. When talking to each other, young people often start with the formal vie but quickly transition to ti in an informal situation. Unless there is a substantial difference in social situation (e.g. a teacher and a student), the choice of the form is symmetric: if A. uses ti to address B., then B. also uses ti to address A.. While people may transition quickly from vie to ti, such transition presumes mutual agreement. There is a recent trend not to use the formal "Vie" at all (or mostly at all), but this can lead to awkward situations.

Macedonian

Macedonian distinguishes between familiar ti (ти) and respectful vie (вие) — which is also the plural of both forms, used to address a pair or group. (Respectful Vie may be capitalized, while plural vie is not.) Generally, ti is used among friends and relatives, but the usage depends not only on the closeness of the relationship but also on age and the formality of the situation (e.g., work meeting vs. a party). Children always use ti to address each other and are addressed in this way by adults but are taught to address adults with vie. Younger adults typically also address older adults outside the family as vie regardless of intimacy, and may be addressed as ti in return. When talking to each other young people often start with the formal vie when talking to each other but may transition to ti very quickly in an informal situation. Among older people, ti is often reserved for closer acquaintances. Unless there is a substantial difference in age, the choice of the form is symmetric: if A uses ti to address B, then B also uses ti to address A. While people may transition quickly from vie to ti, such transition presumes mutual agreement. Use of ti without consent of the other person is likely to be viewed as poor conduct or even as an insult, particularly if the other party maintains using vie.

Polish

Main article: Polish name § Formal and informal use

Slovene

File:Jozef Nahtigal tombstone in Dobrova Slovenia.JPG

Tombstone of Jožef Nahtigal in Dobrova with archaic Slovene onikanje in indirect reference. Literal translation "Here lie [počivajo] the honorable Jožef Nahtigal ... they were born [rojeni] ... they died [umerli] ... God grant them [jim] eternal peace and rest."

In Slovenian, although informal address using the 2nd person singular ti form (known as tikanje) is officially limited to friends and family, talk among children, and addressing animals, it is increasingly used among the middle generation to signal a relaxed attitude or lifestyle instead of its polite or formal counterpart using the 2nd person plural vi form (known as vikanje).

An additional nonstandard but widespread use of a singular participle combined with a plural auxiliary verb (known as polvikanje) signals a somewhat more friendly and less formal attitude while maintaining politeness:

• Vi ga niste videli. ('You did not see him': both the auxiliary verb niste and the participle videli are plural masculine.)
• Vi ga niste videl/videla. ('You did not see him': the auxiliary verb niste is plural but the participle videl/videla is singular masculine/feminine.)

The use of the 3rd person plural oni form (known as onikanje in both direct address and indirect reference) as an ultra-polite form is now archaic or dialectal; it is associated with servant-master relationships in older literature, the child-parent relationship in certain conservative rural communities, and in general with relationships with people of highest respect (parents, clergy, royalty).

Czech

See also: Czech verb

In Czech, there are three levels of formality. The most formal is using the plural verb forms with the surname or title of the addressed person, usual between strangers or people in a professional relationship. The second common form is made by using the singular verb forms together with the given name of the other person, used between friends and in certain social groups (students etc.). The third form, which is quite uncommon, is using the plural verb forms and the given name. It may be used by a teacher when addressing a student, or by a boss addressing his secretary, or in other relationships which are more familiar than between strangers but still not friendship. Please note that using the singular verb forms together with the surname or title is considered very rude. Where stranger introduces himself with title (like inženýr Novák, doktor Svoboda), it is considered more polite to address him with title with vy than with surname. However, with ty a title is considered very rude.

Traditionally, use of the informal form was limited for relatives, very close friends, and for children. During the second half of the 20th century, use of the informal form grew significantly among coworkers, youth and members of organisations and groups. The formal form is always used in official documents and when dealing with a stranger (especially an older one) as a sign of respect. 2nd-person pronouns (Ty, Tvůj, Vy, Váš) are often capitalized in letters, advertisement, etc. The capitalization is optional and is slowly becoming obsolete. A variant of the formal form modeled after German "Sie" (Oni/oni, Jejich/jejich, verb onikat) was frequently used during 19th century but disappeared. This form is also associated with Czech Jewish community before Second World War, and still appears very often in Jewish humour as sign of local colour. Sometimes it in used as irony.

In the age internet, where people communicate under nicknames or pseudonymes and almost solely in informal way, capitalizing (ty/Ty mirroring english you/You) is used to emphasise respect, or simply presence of respect. (Ty = friends, honored acquaintance, strangers ty = basic form, vy/Vy = most formal, used to create distance or express contempt, very rude if not sufficiently advocated, often used as insult itself)
Does not apply for less experienced or older (50+) users, who came after internet connection became accessible for masses.

In grammar, plural forms are used in personal and possessive pronouns (vy – you, váš – your) and in verbs, but not in participles and adjectives, they are used in singular forms (when addressing a single person). This is a difference from some other Slavic languages (Slovak, Russian, etc.)

One person informal (tykání)	One person formal (vykání)	More people (both formal and informal)	English
ty děláš	vy děláte	vy děláte	you do
dělal jsi	dělal jste	dělali jste	you did
jsi hodný	jste hodný	jste hodní	you are kind
byl jsi přijat	byl jste přijat	byli jste přijati	you were accepted

Greetings are also connected with T–V distinction. Formal dobrý den (good day) and na shledanou (good-bye) are used with formal vy, while ahoj, nazdar, čau (meaning both hello, hi, and bye) are informal and used with ty.

Lithuanian

In Lithuanian, historically, aside from familiar tu and respectful jūs or Jūs, also used to express plural, there was a special form tamsta, mostly referred to in third person singular (although referring in second person singular is also not uncommon). This form was used to communicate with a stranger who has not earned particular respect (a beggar, for example). Through the Soviet occupation period, however, this form was mostly replaced by standard neutral form drauge ('comrade' in vocative form), and by now tamsta is used sparsely. A common way of addressing people whom one don't know well is also Ponas (m) and Ponia (f), from Polish forms of address pan and pani, respectively.

Indic languages

Hindi-Urdu

In both versions of Hindi-Urdu or Hindustani language, there are three levels of honorifics:

• आप آپ āp [aːp]: Formal and respectable form for you. Used in all formal settings and speaking to persons who are senior in job or age. No difference between the singular and the plural; plural reference can, however, be indicated by the use of "you people" (आप लोग آپ لوگ āp log) or "you all" (आप सब آپ سب āp sab).
• तुम تُم tum [tʊm]: Informal form of you. Used in all informal settings and speaking to persons who are junior in job or age. No difference between the singular and the plural; plural reference can, however, be indicated by the use of "you people" (तुम लोग تُم لوگ tum log) or "you all" (तुम सब تُم سب tum sab).
• तू تُو tū [tuː]: Extremely informal form of you. Strictly singular, its plural form would be तुम تُم tum. Inappropriate use of this form — i.e. other than in addressing children, very close friends, or in poetic language (either with God or with lovers) — risks being perceived as offensive in Pakistan or India.

In a similar way Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and other Dravidian tongues have honorifics and T-V distinctions, in all the persons.

Bengali

Bengali has three levels of formality in its pronouns; the most neutral forms of address among closer members of a family are তুমি tumi and তোমরা tomra (plural). These two pronouns are also typically used when speaking to children, or to younger members of the extended family. তুমি tumi is also used when addressing God. When speaking with adults outside the family, or with senior members of the extended family, the pronouns আপনি apni and আপনারা apnara (plural) are used. This is also true in advertisements and public announcements. A third set of pronouns, তুই tui and তোরা tora (plural), is reserved for use between very close friends, and by extension, between relatives who share a bond not unlike a close friendship. It is also used when addressing people presumed to be of "inferior" social status; this latter use is occasionally used when speaking to housemaids, rickshaw-pullers, and other service workers, although this use is considered offensive.

The situations in which these different pronouns can be used vary considerably depending on many social factors. In some families, children may address their parents with আপনি apni and আপনারা apnara, although this is becoming increasingly rare. Some adults alternate between all three pronoun levels when speaking to children, normally choosing তুমি tumi and তোমরা tomra, but also often choosing তুই tui and তোরা tora to indicate closeness, or আপনি apni or আপনারা apnara in a joking manner. Additionally, Bengalis vary in which pronoun they use when addressing servants in the home; some may use আপনি apni and আপনারা apnara to indicate respect for an adult outside the family, while others may use তুমি tumi and তোমরা tomra to indicate either inclusion into the family or to indicate somewhat less honorable status. Others may even use তুই tui and তোরা tora to indicate inferior status.

Constructed languages

Esperanto

Esperanto is not a T–V-distinguishing language. Vi is the generic second person for both singular and plural, just like you in modern English. An informal second person singular pronoun, ci, does exist, but it is almost never used in practice. It is mainly intended to make the familiar/respectful distinction when translating (literature for example) from languages that do have the T–V-distinction.

Some have imagined ci as an archaic term that was used before and then fell out of common usage; however, this is not true. It has appeared only sometimes in experimental language. In standard Esperanto, vi has always been used since the beginning. For example, ci appears in neither the Fundamenta Gramatiko nor the Unua Libro.

Ido

In Ido, in theory tu is limited to friends and family, whereas vu is used anywhere else. However, many users actually adapt the practice in their own mother tongue and use tu and vu accordingly. In the plural, though, the only form in use is vi, which does not distinguish between formal and informal address.

In all cases, an -n is added to the original pronoun to indicate a direct object that precedes its own verb: Me amoras tu (I love you) becomes Tun me amoras if the direct object takes the first place, for example for emphatic purposes.

Finno-Ugric languages

Finnish

In Finnish, today the use of the informal singular form of address (sinä) is widespread in all social circles, even among strangers and in business situations. A counter-trend has been reported in recent years, whereby some people are choosing to use the formal form more often. It mostly occurs in addressing the elderly or in situations where strict adherence to form is expected, such as in the military. As the use of the form conveys formal recognition of the addressee's status and, more correctly, of polite social distance, the formal form might also occasionally be used jeeringly or to protest the addressee's snobbery. A native speaker may also switch to formal form when speaking in anger, as an attempt to remain civil. Advertisements, instructions and other formal messages are mostly in informal singular form (sinä and its conjugations), but the use of formal forms has increased in recent years. For example, as the tax authorities tend to become more informal, in contrast the social security system is reverting back to using the formal form.

The same forms, such as the pronoun te, are used for formal singular and for both formal and informal plural. Occasionally in written language the formal singular pronoun capitalized (Te) to distinguish it from a plural (te).

In Finnish the number is expressed in pronouns (sinä or sä for second person singular, or te for second person plural), verb inflections, and possessive suffixes. Almost all of these elements follow the grammar of the second person plural also in the formal singular form. For example, polite Voisitteko te siirtää autonne vs. informal Voisitko (sinä) siirtää autosi, "Could you move your car, (please)?". Each of the person markers are modified: -t- to -tte- (verb person), sinä to te (pronoun), -si to -nne (possessive suffix).

As a few examples of this could be mentioned the way imperatives are expressed: Menkää! "Go!" (plural) and the usage of the plural suffix -nne "your" instead of the singular -si "your".

There is number agreement in Finnish, thus you say sinä olet "you are" (singular), but te olette "you are" (plural). However, this does not extend to words describing the addressee, which are in the singular, e.g. oletteko te lääkäri? "are you doctor?" (plural,plural,singular)

A common error, nowadays often made even by native speakers unused to the formal forms, is to use the plural form of the main verb in the perfect and pluperfect constructions. The main verb should be in the singular when addressing one person in the formal plural: Oletteko kuullut? instead of *Oletteko kuulleet? "Have you heard?"

Sometimes the third person is used as a polite form of address, after the Swedish model: Mitä rouvalle saisi olla? "What would madam like to have?" This is far less common in the Eastern parts of Finland, influenced less by the Swedish language and all in all a declining habit. The passive voice may be used to circumvent the choice of the correct form of address; the passive voice is also the equivalent of the English patronizing we as in Kuinkas tänään voidaan? "How are we feeling today?"

Finnish language includes the verbs for calling one with informal singular or formal plural: sinutella, teititellä, respectively.

In the Bible and in the Kalevala, only the "informal" singular is used in all cases.

Estonian

Estonian is a language with T–V distinction, second person plural (teie) is used instead of second person singular (sina) as a means of expressing politeness or formal speech. Sina is the familiar form of address used with family, friends, and minors. The distinction is still much more widely used and more rigid than in closely related Finnish language.

Similar to the French language vouvoyer, the verb teietama is used, and teie is used when addressing a (new) customer or a patient, or when talking to a person in his/her function. In hierarchical organizations, like large businesses or armies, sina is used between members of a same rank/level while teie is used between members of different ranks. Sina (the verb sinatama is also used) is used with relatives, friends, when addressing children and with close colleagues. Borderline situations, such as distant relatives, young adults, customers in rental shops or new colleagues, sometimes still present difficulties.

Hungarian

Hungarian provides numerous, often subtle means of T–V distinction:

The use of the second-person conjugation with the pronoun te (plural ti) is the most informal mode. As in many other European languages, it is used within families, among children, lovers, close friends, (nowadays often) among coworkers, and in some communities, suggesting an idea of brotherhood. Adults unilaterally address children this way, and it is the form used in addressing God and other Christian figures (such as Jesus Christ or the Blessed Virgin), animals, and objects or ideas. Sociologically, the use of this form is widening. Whereas traditionally the switch to te is often a symbolic milestone between people, sometimes sealed by drinking a glass of wine together ("pertu"), today people under the age of about thirty will often mutually adopt te automatically in informal situations. A notable example is the Internet: strangers meeting online use the informal forms of address virtually exclusively, regardless of age or status differences; even Ferenc Gyurcsány as a Prime Minister in office encouraged people in his blog to use te mutually when asking him. IKEA (or rather, its Hungarian team) was noted and practically unique in its choice of this way of addressing people in Hungary in its brochures; reactions were mixed.

Nevertheless, formal forms of address are alive and well in Hungarian:

• The third-person verb conjugation is the primary basis of formal address. The choice of which pronoun to use, however, is fraught with difficulty (and indeed a common solution when in doubt is to simply avoid using any pronoun at all, using the addressee's name or title instead).
  • The pronoun maga (plural maguk), for instance, is considered the basic formal equivalent of "you", but may not be used indiscriminately, as it tends to imply an existing or desired personal acquaintance. (It would not, for instance, ordinarily be used in a conversation where the relative social roles are predominantly important – say, between professor and student.) Typical situations where maga might be used are, e.g., distant relatives, neighbours, fellow travellers on the train, or at the hairdresser's. If one already knows these people, they may even take offence if one were to address them more formally. On the other hand, some urbanites tend to avoid maga, finding it too rural, old-fashioned, offensive or even intimate. – Note that maga coincides with the reflexive pronoun (cf. him/herself), so e.g. the sentence Megütötte magát? can have three meanings: "Did he hit himself?", "Did he hit you?" or "Did you hit yourself?". (For the second meaning, probably ön would be used to avoid ambiguity.)
  • Ön (plural önök) is the formal, official and impersonal "you". It is the form used when people take part in a situation merely as representatives of social roles, where personal acquaintance is not a factor. It is thus used in institutions, business, bureaucracy, advertisements, by broadcasters, by shopkeepers to their customers, and whenever one wishes to maintain one's distance. It is less typical of rural areas or small towns, more typical of cities. It's often capitalized in letters.
  • Other pronouns are nowadays rare, restricted to rural, jocular, dialect, or old-fashioned speech. Such are, for instance, kend and kegyed.
  • There is a wide spectrum of third-person address that avoids the above pronouns entirely; preferring to substitute various combinations of the addressee’s names and/or titles. Thus, for instance, a university student might ask mit gondol X. tanár úr? ("What does Professor X. think?", meant for the addressee) rather than using the insufficiently formal maga or the overly impersonal ön. If the difference in rank is not to be emphasized, it is perfectly acceptable to use the addressed person's first name instead of a second-person pronoun, e.g. Megkérném arra Pétert, hogy… ("I'd like to ask [you,] Peter to…"). (Note that these are possible because the formal second-person conjugation of verbs is the same as the third-person conjugation.)
• Finally, the auxiliary verb tetszik (lit. "it pleases [you]") is an indirect alternative (or, perhaps, supplement) to direct address with the third or even second person. In terms of grammar, it can only be applied if the addressed person is mentioned in the nominative, otherwise it is replaced by forms with the name or maga. It is very polite (sometimes seen as over-polite) and not as formal as the Ön form. Children usually address adults outside their family this way. Adults may address more distant relatives, housekeepers and older persons using this form, and some men habitually address older or younger women this way (this is slightly old-fashioned).

It is important to keep in mind that formal conjugation doesn't automatically imply politeness or vice versa; these factors are independent of each other. For example, Mit parancsolsz? "What would you like to have?" (literally, "What do you command?") is in the informal conjugation, while it can be extremely polite, making it possible to express one's honour towards people one has previously established a friendly relationship with. On the other hand, Mit akar? "What do you want?" is expressed with the formal conjugation, nevertheless it may sound rude and aggressive; the formal conjugation does not soften this tone in any way.

	Example: "you" in the nominative "Will you be leaving tomorrow?"		Example: "you" in the accusative "I saw you yesterday on the television."
Te	(Te) holnap utazol el?		Láttalak tegnap a tévében.
Maga	(Maga)	holnap utazik el?	Láttam	magát	tegnap a tévében.
Ön	(Ön)			önt
<title or first name>	(A) tanár úr* Péter			(a) tanár urat* Pétert
Tetszik	Holnap tetszik elutazni?		<The name or maga is used instead> Láttam tegnap Mari nénit** a tévében. OR Láttam tegnap magát a tévében.

* "tanár úr" is a form of addressing for professors (cf. "Sir"); "tanár urat" is the accusative. Other forms of addressing are also possible, to avoid specifying the maga and ön pronouns.

** "Mari nénit" is an example name in the accusative (cf. "Aunt Mary").

Turkic languages

Turkish

In contemporary Turkish, T–V distinction is strong. Family members and friends speak to one another using the second singular person sen as well as adults use "sen" to address minors. In formal situations (meeting people first time, business, customer-clerk, colleagues) plural second-person siz is used almost exclusively. In very formal situations, double plural second-person sizler may be used to refer to a much-respected person. Rarely, third plural conjugation of the verb (but not the pronoun) may be used to emphasize utmost respect. In imperative, there are three forms: second singular person for informal, second plural person for formal and double plural second person for very formal situations: gel (second singular, informal), gelin (second plural, formal), geliniz (double second plural, very formal). The very formal forms are not frequently used.

Uyghur

Uyghur is notable for using four different forms, to distinguish both singular and plural in both formal and informal registers. The informal plural silär originated as a contraction of sizlär, which uses a regular plural ending. In Old Turkic, as still in modern Turkish, siz was the original second-person plural. However, in modern Uyghur siz has become restricted to the formal singular, requiring the plural suffix -lär for the plurals.

Siz as the formal singular pronoun is characteristic of Ürümchi dialect, which is the Uyghur literary standard. In Turfan they say sili and in Kashgar dialect, özlär. Sili is also used in other areas sometimes, while in literary Uyghur özlär as a singular pronoun is considered a "hyperdeferential" level of respect; the deferential plural form is härqaysiliri.

Northwest Caucasian languages

Ubykh

In the extinct Ubykh language, the T–V distinction was most notable between a man and his mother-in-law, where the plural form sʸæghʷa supplanted the singular wæghʷa very frequently, possibly under the influence of Turkish. The distinction was upheld less frequently in other relationships, but did still occur.

Semitic languages

Arabic

Modern Standard Arabic uses majestic plural form of the second person (أنتم 'antum') to respectfully refer to the addressee. It is restricted to highly formal contexts, generally relating to politics and government. However, several varieties of Arabic have a clearer T-V distinction. The most developed is in Egyptian Arabic, which uses حضرتك ḥaḍritak (literally, "Your Grace"), ساعدتك sa`adtak and سيادتتك siyadtak (literally, "Your Lordship") as the "V" terms, depending on context, while انت inta is the "T" term. Ḥaḍritak is the most usual "V" term, with sa`adtak and siyadtak being reserved for situations where the addressee is of very high social standing (e.g. a high-ranking government official or a powerful businessman). Finally, the "V" term is used only with social superiors (including elders); unfamiliar people perceived to be of similar or lower social standing to the speaker are addressed with the T term inta.

Hebrew

In modern Hebrew, there is a T–V distinction used in a set of very formal occasions, for example, a lawyer addressing a judge, or when speaking to rabbis. The second person singular "אתה" (ata, masculine) or "את" (at, feminine) are the usual form of address in all other situations, i.e. when addressing ministers or members of the Knesset.

The formal form of address when speaking to a person of higher authority is the third person singular using the person's title without the use of the pronoun. Thus, a rabbi could be asked: "כבוד הרב ירצה לאכול?" (would the honorable rabbi like to eat?) or a judge told: "כבודו דן בבקשתי" (his honour is considering my request).

Other persons of authority are normally addressed by their title only, rather than by name, using the second person singular. For example, officers and commanders in the army are addressed as "המפקד" (hamfaked, "the commander") by troops.

In non-Hebrew-speaking Jewish culture, the second-person form of address is similarly avoided in cases of higher authority (e.g., a student in a yeshiva would be far more likely to say in a classroom discussion "yesterday the rabbi told us..." than "yesterday you told us..."). However, this usage is limited to more conservative (i.e. Orthodox) circles.

Sino-Tibetan languages

Mandarin Chinese

Historically, Mandarin Chinese has upheld its T–V distinction rigorously in speech as well as in writing. This is particularly evident in Beijing, whose dialect formed the basis for Standard Chinese. Written Chinese, which generally strives for a more formal, or even semi-archaic tone, consistently makes the T–V distinction, sometimes even going so far as to employ archaic forms no longer used in speech such as 閣下 (阁下), géxià, literally, from below the pagoda, meaning basically "Your Excellency", used in extremely formal situations in Imperial China. Although rarely, 前辈 (前輩 trad. characters, pronounced qiánbèi), character-wise literally "older generation", meaning "Elder(s)", is still sometimes used in very formal settings when there is a very large age gap between the speaker and the listener.

In contrast to many European languages, the T–V distinction in formal Mandarin is predicated much more on the chronological age of the speakers than on their social positions. A possible exception is if there is a very large gap in the social status/standing within an exchange. For example, formality may be used when one is addressing one's superior in the workplace, or when a servant is addressing an employer, or when a waiter at a restaurant is addressing a customer. People of a similar age who are not acquainted with each other will generally address each other using the informal 你 (nǐ). The formal variant of 你 (nǐ) is 您 (nín), and the character 您 is composed of 你 with the element of the heart, 心 (xīn heart), added below it. Among its uses, one addresses older people using 您 (nín). As shown by presence of the element of the heart in the character, the word is also used to indicate affection expressed in a formal way. This includes addressing one's parents using 您 (nín). Situations where two people address each other using 您 are relatively rare, unless expressing such formal affection is the intent of both parties. 您 may thus, for example, be used among close family members, or in formal discourse between heads of state. It is worth noticing that unlike a TV-distinction like the one followed in modern French with the word "vous", using 您 in this way in Mandarin Chinese does not carry any implication of distance or a lack of intimacy.

In southern China when using either local dialect or informal Mandarin, there is no T–V distinction made at all. Formality in these languages is indicated by use of different kinship terms only, much like other Asian languages (such as Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese). Because of this, most southern Chinese find it irrelevant, unnecessary, and sometimes difficult to make the distinction.

Although the plural forms of personal pronouns in Mandarin are typically formed by adding the suffix -們 (-men) (们 = simplified character) to their singular counterparts, the construction of 您們 is quite rare in Standard Chinese; indirect constructions such as 大家 (dàjiā, everyone) or 諸位 (zhū wèi, written language) resp. 各位 (gèwèi, polite/formal) are preferred when addressing a crowd. The reason may be due to the etymology of 您, which was itself a contraction of the plural second person pronoun 你們 (nimen -> *nim -> nin). A now extinct honorific form 怹 for the third person was formed in a similar way (他們 tamen->*tam->tan). The use of 您們 remains extant in the Beijing dialect, however, which retains a number of distinctions lost in Standard Chinese. Examples of its use include situations where a small number of older people with whom one is relatively familiar is directly addressed, making 大家 (dàjiā) awkward. In Taiwanese Mandarin, 您們 is still encountered as an address in the service industry, spoken as well as written, for two or more customers.

Japonic languages

Japanese

In Japanese, as in Vietnamese, kinship terms, titles, or names are commonly used instead of first-, second- or third-person pronouns; real personal pronouns do not exist in the language, and the words most closely corresponding to them are grammatically nouns. As in Korean, there are several levels of politeness regarding social hierarchy, and polite language encompasses not only pronouns but also verb endings and vocabulary as well. (See the articles Japanese pronouns and Honorific speech in Japanese for more information.)

Austro-Asiatic languages

Vietnamese

Main article: Vietnamese pronouns

Vietnamese does not have a clear concept of pronouns. Any noun can be used to refer to people, especially kinship terms. Pronouns are sometimes not needed in a normal conversation, as the speaker can always refer to him/herself, the audience, and others directly by name, which might seem strange to English speakers. The nouns used to refer to people can reveal not only the level of formality but also the social relationship between the speaker and the person being referred to, differences in age, and even the attitude of the speaker toward the person whom is being referred.

There is an informal second-person pronoun: mày. This term is always condescending and should be used only with someone who is both familiar with and subordinate to the speaker. Young people also utilize it frequently.

Tai-Kadai languages

Thai

In Thai, first, second, and third person pronouns vary in formality according to the social standing of the speaker and the referent and the relationship between them. For a non-exhaustive list of Thai second person pronouns, see http://www.into-asia.com/thai_language/grammar/you.php.

Austronesian languages

Tagalog

In Tagalog, the familiar second person is 'ikáw' (in the nominative case). This is replaced by 'kayó' (which is actually the second person plural) when the situation calls for a more polite tone. The pronoun 'kayó' is accompanied by the particle 'pô'. This form is generally used to show respect to close, older relatives. This is also the form expected when talking with friends of parents or grandparents.

However, when formality is required, the third person plural ('silá') is used instead. This form is used when talking with complete strangers or people with high ranks, such as government officials.

1. Sino ka? (Who are you?) [Used to ask for the identity of a person of equal rank, such as a student to a fellow student. However, this question sounds impolite.]
2. Sino pô kayó? (Who are you?) [This form implies that the speaker believes the person addressed is related to them or a relative, and just wants to confirm the relationship.]
3. Sino pô silá? (Who are you, Sir/Ma'am?) [Though 'pô' does not really translate as 'Sir' or 'Ma'am', the question gives us an idea that the person addressed is a complete stranger and the speaker has no idea who they are.]

Younger generations who are basically ignorant of proper Tagalog grammar usually confuse these forms of address, thus may ask someone Sino ka pô ba? in an attempt to sound polite towards a total stranger. This and other ungrammatical variants are very widespead especially in Metro Manila and surrounding suburbs.

Other languages

Korean

The Korean language has historically used several complex gradations. There are at least seven honorific speech levels, each with a singular and plural distinction, creating 14 basic verb stems. However most levels are now redundant in modern Korean. Basic distinctions are made between simplified plain and polite conjugations of verbs and adjectives.

Plain forms are used when speaking to family, close friends and social inferiors. If Koreans are unsure about their social superiority, they will always use polite forms until it is determined who is socially inferior. When they wish to use plain form, Koreans use 말을 놓다 mareul nota (literally “to release language”) for permission to converse in basic forms. Respectful polite forms are known as존댓말 jondaenmal and neutral plain forms are 예사말 yesanmal. The plainest forms are known as 반말 banmal (literally “half speech”) which are spoken among close friends or to social inferiors. But these forms become derogatory and provocative when directed at those who should be addressed in a polite manner.

Honorific speech triggered by the subject of the sentence is called 높임말 nopimmal and is used independently of the speaker's social level. For example a speaker who uses -하십니다 -hasimnida which means “do(es) …”, adds the infix -시 -si- to honour the sentence's subject and the suffix -ㅂ니다 -mnida to express courtesy or politeness (or simply their distance) towards those listening. Polite and plain forms maybe mixed in 높임말 nopimmal as the subject of the sentence and those spoken to, do not have to be the same people. The speaker can also honour a higher person with the infix -시 -si- while talking to a friend using only 반말 banmal plain forms.

Basque

See also: Basque grammar: Personal pronouns

Basque has three levels of formality: hi, zu and berori.

The most neutral is zu, that is considered the formal one. The informal one is hi and its use is limited to some specific situations: among friends, parents to address their children (never otherwise, neither the spouses among them), to children and to pets.

Unlike "zu", "hi" makes a distinction whether the addressed one is a male or a female (for example: duk (you, male, have) and dun (you, female, have)); also obligates the speaker to change any other verb forms to mark this distinction about the addressed one, even in 3rd and 1st person verbs. This is called hitano (for example: du (s/he has, neutral form); dik (s/he has, male you) and din (s/he has, female you)).

The third form, berori, is a very strongly formal pronoun hardly used nowadays, used to address priests, judges and nobility. It uses the 3rd form verbs.

The plural form used to be "zu", but since it was adopted as a neutral form for the singular, a pluralized version was made up: zuek, for both respectful and familiar relationships.

Related verbs, nouns and pronouns

Some languages have a verb to describe the fact of using either a T or a V form. Some also have a related noun or pronoun.

	T verb	V verb	T noun	V noun
Basque	hika (aritu/hitz egin)(very close)	zuka (aritu/hitz egin) (neuter/formal) berorika (aritu/hitz egin) (very formal)
Breton	teal/mont dre te/komz dre te	c'hwial/mont dre c'hwi/komz dre c'hwi
Bulgarian	(говоря/съм)на "ти" (govorya/sam)na "ti"	(говоря/съм)на "Вие" (govorya/sam)na "Vie"	на "ти" na "ti"(more like adverb)	на "Вие" na "Vie"(more like adverb)
Catalan	tutejar/tractar de tú/vós	tractar de vostè
Chinese	稱呼你 (chēnghū nǐ)	稱呼您 (chēnghū nín)
Czech	tykat	vykat	tykání	vykání
Danish	dutte, at være dus	at være Des
Dutch	tutoyeren, jijjouwen (used very rarely)	vouvoyeren	tutoyeren	vouvoyeren
English	to thou		thouing
Esperanto	cidiri	vidiri	cidiro	vidiro
Estonian	sinatama	teietama	sinatamine	teietamine
Finnish	sinutella	teititellä	sinuttelu	teitittely
French	tutoyer	vouvoyer/vousoyer/voussoyer (the last two forms are used very rarely)	tutoiement	vouvoiement/vousoiement/voussoiement (the last two forms are used very rarely)
Frisian (West)	dookje	jookje	dookjen	jookjen
German	duzen	siezen	Duzen	Siezen
Hungarian	tegez	magáz	tegezés	magázás
Icelandic	þúa	þéra	þúun	þérun
Italian	dare del tu	dare del Lei
Korean	mareul nota; banmalhada	mareul nopida; nopinmal
Lithuanian	tujinti		tujinimas
Polish	mówić per ty tykać (humorous)	mówić per pan/pani	mówienie per ty	mówienie per pan/pani
Portuguese	tratar por tu	tratar por você chamar de você	–	–
Romanian	a tutui	a spune „dumneavoastră”	tutuire	plural de politeţe
Russian	тыкать (tykat')	выкать (vykat')	тыканье (tykanie)	выканье (vykanie)
Serbian	не персирати (ne persirati), бити на ти (biti na ti), тикати (tikati)	персирати (persirati), бити на ви (biti na vi), викати (vikati)	неперсирање (nepersiranje), тикање (tikanje)	персирање (persiranje), викање (vikanje)
Slovak	tykať	vykať	tykanie	vykanie
Slovene	tikati	vikati	tikanje	vikanje
Sorbian (Upper-)	ty prajić, tykać	wy rěkać/prajić, wykać	tykanje	wykanje
Sorbian (Lower-)	ty groniś, tykaś (se) {lit.}	wy groniś, wykaś {lit}	ty gronjenje, tykanje	wy gronjenje, wykanje
Spanish	tutear	ustedear; tratar de usted	tuteo	ustedeo
Swedish	dua	nia	duande	niande
Turkish	senli benli olmak/konuşmak	sizli bizli olmak/konuşmak	senli benli olmak/konuşmak)	sizli bizli olma/konuşmak
Ukrainian	тикати (tykaty), казати "ти" (kazaty "ty")	викати (vykaty), казати "ви" (kazaty "vy")	тикання (tykannia), звертання на ти (zvertannia na ty)	викання (vykannia), звертання на ви (zvertannia na vy)
Welsh	tydïo		tydïo
Yiddish	דוצן (dutsn) זײַן אױף דו (zayn af du)	אירצן (irtsn) זײַן אױף איר (zayn af ir)

See also

• Honorific
• Honorifics (linguistics)
• Hypocoristic
• Pluractionality, another plural device used for politeness
• Style (manner of address)
• Thou

References

• Brown, Roger / Gilman, Albert (1960) "The Pronouns of Power and Solidarity" in American Anthropologist 4 (6): 24–39. Also found in Language and Social Context: Selected Readings, ed. by P. Giglioli (1972), ISBN 0-140-13303-8, pp. 252–282.
• Cook, Manuela (2000) "Power and Solidarity Revisited", 28th Romance Linguistics Seminar Meeting, Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge.
• Cook, Manuela (1997) "Forms of Address" ("Uma Teoria de Interpretação das Formas de Tratamento na Língua Portuguesa"), Hispania 80.3.
• Template:Fr Chatelain, E. (1880) "Du pluriel de respect en latin", Revue de Philologie IV (April 1880): 129–139.
• Helmbrecht, Johannes (2005), "Politeness Distinctions in Pronouns", in. Haspelmath, Martin et al. (eds.), The World Atlas of Language Structures, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 186-190.
• Jucker, Andreas / Taavitsainen, Irma (eds.) (2003), Diachronic Perspectives on Address Term Systems, Amsterdam: Benjamins
• On-line Middle English grammar (PDF file)
• Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, The. New York, Oxford University Press, 1971.