• teft@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    For me as a spanish as a second language speaker I use tu for my close friends and people younger than me or to a cashier. I use usted for people I don’t know that well or if they are older than me or security guards/cops.

    • gramie@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      As I understand it, in Latin America, usted is very rarely used regardless of the relationships between people.

      • teft@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        I live in colombia and hear it used every day. I ride bikes with my buddies and in the group I ride 3 of us use tu with each other and 3 different of us use usted. Simply because of how much we hang out.

        You can’t really consider latin america as a single block of spanish speakers. Every region is different.

        • gramie@lemmy.ca
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          3 months ago

          Thanks for the information! I thought it was more uniform in the americas, and usted was mostly used in Europe. I guess I will just have to listen to the people around me and try to do what they do.

        • Canadian_Cabinet @lemmy.ca
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          3 months ago

          Yep, every country is different. In Spain its more normal to use tú for everyone unless there’s some explicit formality