Tu or vous?
A free tu vs vous quiz: fourteen everyday situations, one correct level of politeness each. A2 level, scored directly on the page.
Who gets the vous?
Fourteen situations: the boulangerie, the new job, the in-laws, the cop who looks nineteen. Pick the pronoun a French person would actually use, and know what it costs when you pick the other one.
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When to use tu or vous: the quiz
This quiz tests the tu/vous protocol in real situations: the boulangerie, the préfecture counter, your colleague of three years, your friend’s grandmother. Learners get it wrong because textbooks reduce it to formal versus informal, which is not the rule. Age, setting, hierarchy and who speaks first all matter. Use tu at the préfecture and the conversation cools instantly; use vous with a friend’s teenager and you sound like a lawyer. The switch itself, le tutoiement, has its own etiquette.
It is free and scored on the page, and you can retake it until the reflex is automatic. Each answer includes an explanation of the social logic, so you learn the rule, not just the answer. Afterward, the Learning Center has a full guide to French politeness and formality, and The French Briefing gives you daily reading where you can watch tu and vous being used by real speakers.
When should I use tu instead of vous?
Use tu with children, family, friends, fellow students, and usually colleagues at the same level. Use vous with strangers, older people, customers, officials, and anyone in authority. When in doubt, start with vous: the other person will propose « on peut se tutoyer » if tu is appropriate.
Is it rude to use tu with a stranger in France?
With an adult stranger, yes, generally. It reads as overly familiar or condescending, especially with staff, police or administration. The main exceptions are young people among themselves and some casual settings like sports clubs. A tourist gets some slack, but vous is always the safe opening.
Who proposes switching from vous to tu?
The senior person: older, higher-ranked, or the client rather than the provider. Common phrases are « On peut se tutoyer ? » or « Tu peux me tutoyer ». Accepting is normal; refusing is rare and pointed. Once you switch to tu, you do not switch back.
