Ty vs. Vy

The Slovak language has two ways of addressing people: Formal and Informal way of speech.

Informal speech
Informal speech is used when talking to:

• your friends
• your parents and family members
• young children
• people you explicitly agreed on using the informal speech

Form:
2nd person of singular when speaking to a person: TY (you) + verb in the correct singular form

Ty máš nové auto. - You have a new car.
Vidíš ho? (Ty) - Can you see him?

Formal speech
The formal speech is used:

• when talking to people you don't know personally, adult strangers (older people, teachers)
• at the workplace (colleagues, boss)
• at shops, banks (shop assistants)

The rules are very complicated and must be strictly followed.

Form:
2nd person of plural when speaking to a person: VY (you, plural) + verb in the correct plural form.

Potrebujete niečo? (vy) - Do you need anything?