GrammatikHöflichkeit (вы -те)

Höflichkeit (вы -те)

In Russian, verbs can express different levels of formality. This is mainly done through the distinction between ты (informal “you”) and вы (formal or plural “you”).

Informal vs formal “you”

• ты → used with friends, family, children, or people you know well
• вы → used with strangers, in formal situations, or to show respect

Examples:

• Ты говори́шь по-ру́сски? (Do you speak Russian? - informal)
• Вы говори́те по-ру́сски? (Do you speak Russian? - formal or plural)

How verbs change

The verb form changes depending on whether you use ты or вы.

• ты → singular informal form
• вы → plural form (used both for plural and for polite singular)

Example:

• ты де́лаешь (you do – informal)
• вы де́лаете (you do – formal or plural)

Another example:

• ты живёшь здесь (you live here – informal)
• вы живёте здесь (you live here – formal or plural)

The “-те” ending

In the present tense, the вы form always ends in -те. This is the same ending used for plural verb forms.

• говори́шь → говори́те
• де́лаешь → де́лаете
• живёшь → живёте

This means that вы can either mean "you (plural)" or "you (formal singular)".

The verb form is also the same in both cases.

Imperative (commands)

The same distinction appears in commands (imperative forms):

• Informal (ты): говори́! (speak!)
• Formal / plural (вы): говори́те! (speak!)

More examples:

• сядь! → ся́дьте! (sit down!)
• посмотри́! → посмотри́те! (look!)

Again, -те marks either plural or politeness.

When to use “ты” vs “вы”

Use ты:

• with friends and family
• with children
• with people of the same age in informal situations

Use вы:

• with strangers
• in formal or professional situations
• with older people (as a sign of respect)
• in customer service, business, or official contexts

Examples:

• Вы хоти́те ко́фе? (Would you like coffee?)
• Вы рабо́таете здесь? (Do you work here?)

Switching between “вы” and “ты”

Moving from вы to ты is a social step, it usually happens when:

• people get to know each other better
• one person suggests it: Дава́й на ты? (Shall we use “ты”?)

Switching too early can sound rude, while staying with вы can sound distant or formal.

Capitalization in writing

In formal writing, Вы is sometimes capitalized to show respect:

• Спаси́бо, что Вы пришли́. (Thank you for coming.)

This is common in emails, letters, and official communication.

Reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs like учи́ться follow the same pattern. The only difference is that they also have their reflexive ending -ся or -сь.

• ты у́чишься → вы у́читесь
• ты бои́шься → вы бои́тесь
• ты нахо́дишься → вы нахо́дитесь
• учи́сь! → учи́тесь! (study!)
• сади́сь! → сади́тесь! (sit down!)

Examples:

• Ты у́чишься здесь? (Do you study here? – informal)
• Вы у́читесь здесь? (Do you study here? – formal or plural)
• Ты интересу́ешься му́зыкой? (Are you interested in music? – informal)
• Вы интересу́етесь му́зыкой? (Are you interested in music? – formal or plural)

Summary

• Russian distinguishes informal ты and formal/plural вы.
• Verb forms change accordingly: говори́шь → говори́те.
• The ending -те marks plural or politeness.
• The same pattern appears in commands: де́лай → де́лайте.
• вы is used for both plural and polite singular.

Useful sentences

Asking about formality
Мо́жно на ты? - Can we use “ты”?
Дава́й на ты? - Let’s use “ты”?
Бу́дем на ты? - Shall we use “ты”?
Мо́жно к вам на “ты”? - May I switch to “ты” with you?

Responding to that
Да, коне́чно, дава́й на ты. - Yes, of course, let’s use “ты”.
Дава́йте лу́чше на вы. - Let’s stay with “вы”.
Мне удо́бнее на вы. - I’m more comfortable with “вы”.

Switching mid-conversation
Дава́й перейдём на ты. - Let’s switch to “ты”.
Мо́жем перейти́ на ты. - We can switch to “ты”.
Мо́жно я бу́ду на ты? - Can I use “ты”?

Clarifying / correcting
Извини́, мо́жно на ты? - Sorry, can we use “ты”?
Ой, дава́й на ты. - Oh, let’s use “ты”.
Лу́чше на вы. - Better to use “вы”.

Talking about formality itself
Мы на ты и́ли на вы? - Are we on “ты” or “вы”?