Saying “hi” and starting conversations with friends is a handy thing in any language. So much can happen following a good “hi!” You can go play, go for an ice cream, talk about common interests, or just hang out. Your “hi” does more than offer a greeting; it can show someone that you're ready to talk or to have fun.

You probably already know a lot of different ways of saying “hi” in English. You might say “hey” to your close friends and “hello” to your teacher. And you probably follow up your “hi” with a “How are you?” or “What's up?” or even “How's it going?” You choose the kind of greeting depending on the person you're talking to.

For example, you probably speak more casually to your friends than you do with your school principal. You'd never say, “How's it going, buddy?” to your principal! You'd say, “How are you, Mr. Dumas?” In fact, you speak informally to people you know well and more formally to strangers.

French kids do the same thing, but they don't just change an informal “What's up, dude?” to a more serious “How do you do?” They change the “you”!

The Friendly You and the Formal You — Le “tu” sympathique et le “vous” formel

You need to know the two kinds of “you” in French because they are both used. There is the friendly “you,” which is tu in French, and the formal “you,” which is vous. Kids call each other by the friendly you, tu, all the time. But kids call older people, especially strangers, by the formal you, vous.

There's another important difference between the tu and the vous, and that has to do with the number of people the words refer to. In English, you can use “you” for one person or seven people. Not in French!

The tu is singular. It always refers to one person your age or whom you know well. But the French vous is both singular and plural. The vous refers to one person whom you don't know well. And vous also refers to more than one person, whether you know them well or not.

Here is a table to help you remember: