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Grammar reference

Informal and formal you

tykanie a vykanie

Use ty with one person informally and vy for formal address or more than one person.

Core rule

What changes

Use ty with one person informally and vy for formal address or more than one person.

Formal vy uses plural verb forms; capitalize Vy, Vám, and Váš in letters to one formal addressee.

Pattern

Informal and formal address

  • ty máš · informal singular
  • vy máte · formal singular or plural
  • Prepáč · informal / Prepáčte · formal

See it in use

Examples

  1. Ako sa máte? How are you? (formal) Practice this
  2. Prepáč, nerozumiem. Sorry, I do not understand. (informal)
  3. Prepáčte, nerozumiem. Sorry, I do not understand. (formal)

Source

Reference

Jazykovedný ústav Ľudovíta Štúra SAV ↗

Full attribution on References.