Tú or usted: how to address colleagues and bosses

Key rules

• Default: Use tú with colleagues and bosses in most private workplaces.
• Usted: Keep usted for older clients, strangers, courts, public offices and very senior people.
• Switching: Let the older or more senior person suggest tú, and follow their lead.
• Unknown callers: Start with usted on the phone; it is the safe choice.

Use tú with colleagues and bosses

Tú is the default at work in Spain. You use it with colleagues, managers and often directors, especially in private companies, multinationals, startups and younger teams. People use first names, usually without titles like "Señor" or "Doctor".

Usted with your own boss is now unusual. You may still hear it in a very traditional firm or with a much older owner. If you are unsure, listen to how others speak to that person and do the same.

Keep usted for specific people and places

Usted is still expected or common in these cases:

• Older clients or customers.
• A first contact with a stranger, in formal situations.
• Public offices and front desks, although many officials now use tú with you.
• Law courts and judges.
• Some banking, medical and luxury service settings.
• Very senior figures, or traditional companies.

When you answer the phone to an unknown caller, usted is the safe choice. You can change if they move to tú.

Habits vary by region and age. Usted is more common in some rural areas and in Latin America, so what you learn in Spain may not carry over.

Follow the other person's lead

The switch from usted to tú is normally proposed by the older or more senior person. The other person then follows. If someone says "tutéame" or "puedes tutearme", switch to tú straight away.

In your first days, use usted with people who are clearly senior or much older, until they say otherwise, and copy what your colleagues do. With people your own age or level, tú is fine.

If you want to move to tú yourself, ask politely:

• "¿Nos podemos tutear?"
• "Tutéame, por favor."
• "Puedes tratarme de tú."

Junior people should normally wait to be invited. Offering is rarely taken as rude, though, especially in an informal workplace.

The questions below cover the phone, switching and your first days.

Frequently asked questions

Which form should I use when answering the phone to an unknown caller?

Use usted when you answer the phone to an unknown caller, because it is the safe choice. If the caller says "tútéame" or "puedes tutearme", switch to tú straight away.

How do I politely ask to switch from usted to tú?

You can ask "¿Nos podemos tutear?" or say "Tutéame, por favor" or "Puedes tratarme de tú". The older or more senior person usually makes the offer. If you are the junior one, wait to be invited, though offering is rarely taken as rude.

What should I use in my first days at a new job?

Use usted until told otherwise, or copy what the people around you do. In most private companies, startups and multinationals, colleagues and bosses will quickly invite you to use tú.

Do I still need usted with older customers or in public offices?

Yes, usted is still common with older clients, in public bodies, in law courts and in some banking or medical settings. Many officials now use tú themselves, so follow the other person's lead.