Let’s talk about How To Use Vos In Spanish or another way to say “you” in Spanish besides tú, usted, and ustedes.
Here’s something about the Spanish of “Paisas” (people of Medellín, Colombia) that I have never mentioned in my previous emails: “voseo” or the use of the second person singular pronoun “vos” in place of “tú” — the English word “you.”
From what I have heard from some other native Spanish speakers, the use of “vos” is also present in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Guatemala, certain regions of Venezuela, and among Sephardic Jews. But the use of “vos” has completely disappeared in Spain, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Perú (except among the elderly) and Cuba. Note that “vos” is NOT the same as the word “vosotros.”
“Vosotros” is used in Spain, and it is an informal word for you (plural). In American English, “vosotros” is the equivalent of you guys or the very informal pronoun “y ‘all.”
But from what I have been told here in Colombia, Medellín is the only — or one of the few places in Colombia — where you will hear “vos” used. They also “tutear” or us “tú” here in Medellín. I have never heard “vos” used in the Colombian Caribbean costal cites of Barranquilla, Santa Marta and Cartagena.
How To Use Vos In Spanish
I have asked many different “Paisas” :
a. When do you use “vos” in Medellín?
b. When do you “tutear” or use “tú” in Medellín?
c. When do you use “usted” in Medellín?
And I have received two different opinions.
One group says that “vos” is less polite but more friendly than “tú.” For example, I have an “amiga” who says that she uses “vos” with her “hermanos” and “hermanas” and closest friends, but that she would NEVER address her mother with “vos.”
Another “amiga” told me that “vos” is used in relationships where the speakers aren’t “cercano” (close) enough to use “tú” but the relationship is not so formal that the speakers should have to use
“usted.” In other words, “vos” is somewhere in between “tú” and “usted” on a scale of “politeness.”
I mentioned to her that I always “tutear” with my male Paisa acquaintances in the “gimnasio.” (Learning how to speak Spanish while living in New York in neighborhoods with many Puerto Ricans and Dominicans has made me used to using “tú.”)
However, she told me that in Medellín for me to “tutear” with my male Colombian acquaintances in the “gimnasio” is completely inappropriate — which I should have already realized since they always use “usted” when speaking to me. But she told me that it is perfectly alright for me to use “vos” with them since I see them regularly and the gym is a very informal place.
But she cautioned me — and several other male and female Paisa friends have cautioned me — against using “tú” with men who are not my close friends because the Paisa men have an “actitud machista” and if I go around “tuteando” with male “desconocidos” (strangers) or other men who I don’t know very well, the Paisas will automatically assume things about me which I am not trying to convey — if you know what I mean. LOL 🙂
Based on the “actitud machista” here in Medellín, it is OK for me to “tutear” with young female “desconocidas.” But a “señorita” who doesn’t know me well and who chooses to “tutear” with me would be considered “coqueta” (flirtatious).
I have also been warned by several Paisas that here in Medellin if I “tutear” with cab drivers, I am displaying too much “confianza” (trust) and that I am giving the taxi driver an open invitation to “aprovecharse” (to take advantage) and overcharge me for the fare. Which I found strange since all of the taxis in Medellín already have “taxímetros” (meters) installed.
In my next blog post, I am going to give you the basic grammatical rules of using “vos” so that you will be able to conjugate Spanish verbs using “vos” as easily as you conjugate Spanish verbs using “tú” and “usted.”
