Studyfern
Aa
Text size
Line spacing
Reading font
Theme
Focus mode

Home › French

Mission: buy a baguette politely

Tu or vous. Two words for "you", and how to pick the right one.

FrenchA1 · Being politeAbout 4 min: 2 reading, 2 practiceUpdated

After this lesson you can
  • Choose tu or vous for a situation
  • Use vous for more than one person
  • Ask for something politely in a shop
Being polite: lesson 1 of 4
  1. A1 · Being polite
  2. Mission: buy a baguette politely 4 min
  3. Mission: buy lunch at the market 5 min
  4. A1 · Forms and paperwork
  5. Mission: check in at a hotel 4 min
  6. A1 · Being polite
  7. Mission: send a postcard from the seaside 5 min

Try first

You haven't learned this yet, so guess. Guessing before you read helps the explanation stick. Nothing here is scored.

Already know this? Take a 3-question check and skip ahead.

Get all three right and the lesson is marked done.

Level Level A1 (around the DELF A1 exam). Real French: buying bread and greeting people politely.

What it is

Your mission: you walk into a bakery. The baker, Josiane, is a stranger and older than you. Greet her, ask for a baguette politely, ask the price and say goodbye, using the right "you".

French has two ways to say "you":

  • tu: one person you know well: a friend, a family member, a child, a classmate.
  • vous: one person you don't know well or want to be polite to (a shop assistant, a stranger, an official), and any group of two or more people.

Quick check

Tap an answer to check it.

  1. You ask a stranger in the street for directions. Which do you use?

    Show answer

    vous. Vous is polite for someone you don't know.

Why it matters

Choosing the wrong one can sound rude or oddly cold. With a shop assistant, a stranger or an official, vous is the safe choice.

Worked example

In Josiane's bakery:

  • Vous : Bonjour madame. Je voudrais une baguette, s'il vous plaît.
  • Josiane : Voilà. Et avec ça ?
  • Vous : C'est tout. C'est combien ?
  • Josiane : Un euro vingt.
  • Vous : Merci, au revoir !

Je voudrais (I would like) and s'il vous plaît (please, polite) go well with vous.

Real French: always say Bonjour when you enter a shop, even before you ask for anything, and Merci, bonne journée ! when you leave. Skipping the greeting is the quickest way to seem rude.

Common mistake

Switching between tu and vous in the same conversation. Pick one and keep it: with vous, keep s'il vous plaît and vous pouvez …; with tu, use s'il te plaît and tu peux ….

More detail: when people switch

French speakers sometimes move from vous to tu as they get to know each other. Usually the older or more senior person suggests it: On peut se tutoyer ? (Shall we say tu?)

Key terms

tu
you: one person you know well
vous
you: polite, or more than one person
je voudrais
I would like
s'il vous plaît
please (polite / plural)
s'il te plaît
please (to someone you say tu to)

Practise the key terms

Tap a card to turn it over. 5 cards.

FrontBack
tuyou: one person you know well
vousyou: polite, or more than one person
je voudraisI would like
s'il vous plaîtplease (polite / plural)
s'il te plaîtplease (to someone you say tu to)

Practice

Sort it

Tu or vous?

  1. Your little brother

    Show answer

    tu. Family: tu.

  2. A doctor you're meeting for the first time

    Show answer

    vous. Someone you don't know, in a formal setting: vous.

  3. Two friends together

    Show answer

    vous. More than one person is always vous.

  4. Your best friend

    Show answer

    tu. Close friend: tu.

  5. The examiner in the DELF oral

    Show answer

    vous. Polite and formal: vous.

  6. A shop assistant

    Show answer

    vous. A stranger serving you: vous.

Build the sentence

Build "I would like a coffee, please." (polite)

Show answer

Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.. Polite request: Je voudrais … s'il vous plaît.

Quick quiz

Tap an answer to check it.

  1. You speak to two friends at once. Which is right?

    Show answer

    Vous êtes prêts ?. Vous is used for any group, even friends.

Practise speaking

Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.

Mission role-play. You are Josiane, a friendly baker who also helps beginners (level A1). Speak slowly and clearly. Use only these words and phrases, plus very simple everyday words: tu, vous, je voudrais, s'il vous plaît, s'il te plaît, merci, bonjour. In each round, tell me in English who I am talking to (a friend, a shop assistant, a child, two colleagues, an older stranger) and what I want, then play that person and wait for me to ask for it in French with tu or vous. Do 6 rounds. After each answer, tell me what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again, then tell me one thing to improve. When I have chosen tu or vous correctly in all 6 rounds, say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 2 sentences. If I need a name or a town, I will make one up. Explain corrections in English.

Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.

Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.

New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.

In short

  • tu: one person you know well.
  • vous: one person you're polite to, or any group.
  • With a shopkeeper or an official, use vous.
  • Stay with one choice in a conversation.

Mastery check

Answer without looking back. Score 80% or more and the lesson is marked done. Your result is kept only in this browser.

Check yourself

Answer in your head first, then open the answer. Nothing is saved.

  1. Do you say tu or vous to a waiter?

    Show answer

    Vous.

  2. Why do you say vous to a group of friends?

    Show answer

    Vous is the form for more than one person.

  3. What is the polite way to say "please"?

    Show answer

    S'il vous plaît.

Further reading