In Spanish, there are two ways of saying “your”: tu and su. So what’s the difference between tu and su then? Long story short: It depends on who the audience is. Both tu and su are possessive pronouns that mean “your”: tu perro (your dog.) Learn more below about when do you use tu vs su in Spanish.

Differentiating between types of “you” in Spanish: su vs tu

Besides the singular and plural forms of pronouns, which aren’t distinguished in English (“you” is the same for both second person singular and plural), the Spanish language also has formal and informal ways of saying “you” and “your.” Which form you use depends on who your audience is. The singular informal tú (meaning “you”) is mostly used when speaking with friends, family members, children, pets, close acquaintances, and so on. Learn more about how to talk about your family in Spanish using tu. The singular formal usted (also meaning “you”) is for people you don’t know well or aren’t close with, and it involves a certain degree of formality. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule depending on social status, age, culture or country you’re in.

What’s the difference between tu and su?

We know that tu and su are possessive pronouns. The difference between su vs. tu is the same as the one between tú and usted: tu is the informal way of saying “your,” while su is the formal one. The same people you’d use tú with, you’d also use tu, and the same applies to usted and su. According to SpanishDict:

• Tu is the possessive used with tú: Es tu perro. / (Tú) tienes un perro. (It’s your dog. You have a dog.)
• Su is the possessive used with usted (the formal you): Es su perro. / (Usted) tienes un perro.

Also, you should know that the noun following tu or su must be singular. If you have a plural noun, you’ll use tus or sus: Son tus/sus perros (They are your dogs.)

Another thing you should note is that su can also mean “her,” “his,” “its,” or “their.” Depending on the context, Es su perro can be translated as “It’s her/his/their/(formal) your dog.”

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Want to learn more? Check out the lesson on venir vs llegar, especially since these two Spanish verbs are sometimes easily mixed up, or learn what’s the difference between quedar and quedarse in Spanish.

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