tu - French Definition & Examples

tu

/ty/

pronounSing2

you (second-person singular subject pronoun, informal)

Tu fais quoi ce soir ?

What are you doing tonight?

verbmasculinePart3rdPastSing

kept silent; fell silent (past participle of 'taire')

Il s'est tu quand je suis arrivé.

He fell silent when I arrived.

Synonyms:se taire, rester silencieux

Notes

Tu means "you" and is a singular subject pronoun. It refers to one person.

You use tu when addressing someone informally. This includes friends, family, children, pets, or anyone you have a close, personal relationship with.

For example: "Tu vas bien?" (Are you doing well?).

Do not confuse tu with "vous". "Vous" is used for addressing multiple people (plural "you") or one person formally (singular formal "you").

Using tu with a stranger or someone you should address formally can be considered disrespectful.