# Formal vs informal register

> id: usage.formal-vs-informal-register · category: usage · depth: standard · levels: B1 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** Register shifts with pronouns (usted vs tú/vos), softeners (quisiera, podría, sería tan amable), vocabulary, and greetings — not just grammar.

Formal kit: usted + conditional/imperfect softeners (quisiera consultar, ¿podría indicarme...?), titles (señor, doctora, ingeniero — widely used in Bolivia), and full greetings before business.

Informal kit: tú/vos, imperatives, diminutives, fillers. Mismatch costs: too formal sounds distant among friends; too informal with officials or elders can stall your paperwork.

Register is a whole package, not just the pronoun: the formal kit pairs usted with conditional/imperfect softeners (quisiera consultar, ¿podría indicarme…?), titles (señor, doctora, ingeniero — heavily used in Bolivia), and a full greeting before any request; the informal kit runs on tú/vos, imperatives, diminutives, and fillers. Getting it wrong costs you — too formal sounds cold among friends, too informal can stall your paperwork with officials.

## Examples
- Disculpe, ¿sería tan amable de revisar mi expediente? — Excuse me, would you be so kind as to check my file?
- Che, pasame la sal. — Hey, pass me the salt.
- ¿Sería tan amable de indicarme dónde presento la solicitud? — Would you be so kind as to tell me where I submit the application?

Related: usage.tu-usted-choice, usage.politeness-formulas, usage.written-vs-spoken

License: CC BY-SA 4.0 — Spanish Rules Library — spanishruleslibrary.com