"you (singular, informal)" in seven languages
Meaningyou (singular, informal)
Spanish
tú
/tu/
inherited
Formal: usted, from vuestra merced 'your grace'.
French
tu
/ty/
inherited
Formal: vous, the plural.
Italian
tu
/tu/
inherited
Formal: Lei, literally 'she' (Your Lordship).
Portuguese
você
/voˈse/
other source · Portuguese vossa mercê 'your grace'
Tu survives in southern Brazil and is the norm in Portugal.
Romanian
tu
/tu/
inherited
Catalan
tu
/tu/
inherited
English
you
/ju/
native English · Old English ēow
Archaic 'thou' is the true distant cognate of TŪ (PIE *túh₂).
English → Italianyou (singular, informal)tuNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: thou.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
TŪ‘you (singular)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Same spelling, different vowel: French fronted Latin ū to [y]. The formal 'you' splits three ways — 'your grace', the plural, and 'she'.
English relatives: thou
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- es¿Tú eres italiano?
- frTu es italien ?
- itTu sei italiano?
- ptVocê é italiano?
- roTu ești italian?
- caTu ets italià?
- enAre you Italian?