Bolivian voseo: vos in the lowlands and valleys

Explanation

Bolivia is dialectally divided: the Andean highlands (La Paz, Oruro, Potosí — colla country) rely on tú and usted, while the eastern lowlands (Santa Cruz, Beni — camba) and the southern valleys (Tarija, Sucre) use vos every day. The verb forms mirror the general voseo: present vos tenés, podés, querés and affirmative imperatives vení, mirá, comé.

Bolivian voseo is less uniform and less prestige-marked than Argentina's: in formal, written, or highland contexts speakers readily switch back to tú or usted. A newcomer should default to vos with peers in the east and valleys, and to tú/usted in the highlands and with elders or officials.

The morphology isn't uniform across the country: Tarija and the Chaco use a voseo close to the Argentine type (including in the subjunctive and imperative), while Santa Cruz pairs vos with present forms like tenés, podés and the imperatives vení, comé but mixes more with tú in writing. In practice, vos + the everyday present and affirmative imperative will carry you through the east and the valleys.

Examples

Related rules

• Paraguayan voseo: vos as the default
• Camba and colla: Bolivia's two big accents