Tú vs usted commands in Spanish: which one to use

Use a tú command with anyone you address informally — friends, family, children, and peers your own age. Use an usted command when you want to be respectful or formal: with strangers, elders, officials, customers, or in a professional setting. The choice is the same one you already make between tú and usted as pronouns; it just carries over into how you give orders.

The two forms also look different. The affirmative tú command is the present-tense “he/she” form (habla, come), while the usted command uses the subjunctive (hable, coma). So picking the register also decides the verb shape.

When to use tú commands

Reach for tú when there is already closeness or equality: a friend, a sibling, a child, a classmate, a coworker you are casual with.

Pásame el agua, por favor.
Pass me the water, please.

Espérame aquí.
Wait for me here.

Regional habits vary. In much of Latin America a stranger may still expect usted until you know each other, even between people of similar age. In Spain tú is widespread among peers and is often used quite quickly. When in doubt with someone new, start with usted and switch once they do.

When to use usted commands

Use usted to show politeness, respect, or professional distance — with someone older, a customer, a doctor, a police officer, or anyone you have just met in a formal context.

Espere un momento, por favor.
Wait a moment, please.

It is also the default for public signs and instructions to a general audience, where the reader is anonymous.

Pase. / Firme aquí. / Tenga cuidado.
Come in. / Sign here. / Be careful.

How the forms differ

The affirmative tú command is simply the present-tense “he/she” form: habla, come, escribe. Eight common verbs are irregular and just memorized: di (decir), haz (hacer), ve (ir), pon (poner), sal (salir), sé (ser), ten (tener), ven (venir).

The usted command and every negative command — including the negative tú — use the subjunctive instead. That is why the tú form flips in the negative: habla but no hables.

Habla más despacio. / No hables tan rápido.
Speak more slowly. / Don’t speak so fast. (tú)

Hable más despacio. / No hable tan rápido.
Speak more slowly. / Don’t speak so fast. (usted)

For the full conjugation walkthrough — the irregulars, negatives, and where object pronouns attach — see Spanish imperative commands.

Plural: ustedes (and vosotros)

To command a group, Latin America and formal Spain both use ustedes, which takes the same subjunctive ending as usted.

Pasen, por favor.
Come in, please. (to a group)

In Spain, the informal plural for a group of friends is vosotros, with its own affirmative ending and a subjunctive negative.

Hablad más despacio. / No habléis tan rápido.
Speak more slowly. / Don’t speak so fast. (vosotros)

Common mistakes

Using the tú form when you mean to be formal

Dropping into tú with a stranger or someone you should respect can sound abrupt; the usted form keeps the right distance.

Habla más despacio. → Hable más despacio.
Speak more slowly. (to a stranger)

Mixing the pronoun and the verb form

Once you choose usted, the verb has to follow with the subjunctive command, not the tú form.

Usted, ven aquí. → Venga aquí.
Come here. (the usted command of venir is venga, not ven)

Assuming usted is always the safe choice

Usted is polite, but with a close friend it can feel cold and distant, as if you are keeping them at arm’s length.

Siéntese, por favor. → Siéntate.
Sit down. (with a friend, the warm choice is the tú command)

The register choice gets easy once you make it under pressure instead of studying a table: Fluera hands you a quick situation — who you are talking to — and you produce the command that fits, so deciding between tú and usted turns into a reflex. Try it and practice Spanish by reacting to real requests.

Practice