Julianna FriskIf you’ve spent more than five minutes learning Spanish online, you’ve probably heard this advice: “Don’t bother with vosotros. It’s bad.”
Bad how, exactly? Offensive? Wrong? A grammatical crime? No. But there is a reason people keep warning learners about it, especially outside Spain.
What Vosotros Actually Is
Vosotros is the informal plural “you” in Spanish. It’s what you use when talking casually to a group of people, the same way you’d say “you guys” or “you all” in English.
Example:
- Vosotros sois mis amigos.
- ¿Qué hacéis vosotros?
Nothing wrong there. The grammar checks out. Native speakers use it daily. The key detail people leave out: vosotros is used almost exclusively in Spain.
In most of Latin America, ustedes covers both formal and informal situations. No split. No extra conjugations. Just one form.
Why Do People Say Vosotros Is “Bad”?
It’s not about correctness. It’s about usefulness.
1. It’s Geographically Limited
If you’re learning Spanish for Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, or pretty much anywhere outside Spain, you’re unlikely to hear vosotros in real life. For many learners, it becomes dead weight.
It’s like memorizing UK slang when you’re planning to live in California. Not wrong, just unnecessary.
2. It Adds Another Conjugation Set
Spanish already asks a lot of your memory. Vosotros brings its own verb endings:
- vosotros habláis
- vosotros coméis
- vosotros vivís
If you’re never going to use them, teachers often decide it’s not worth the cognitive load early on.
3. It Can Sound out of Place Outside Spain
Using vosotros in Latin America won’t offend anyone, but it will sound odd. People may assume you learned Spanish in Spain, from a Spanish YouTuber, or from a very specific textbook.
In casual settings, it can come across as mismatched rather than impressive.
Is Vosotros Actually a Problem?
No. Context is the whole issue. In Spain, not using vosotros can make you sound stiff or distant. Saying ustedes to friends in Madrid can feel oddly formal, almost like you’re putting space between yourself and the group.
In Latin America, the reverse is true. Vosotros feels unnecessary and foreign.
Same language. Different norms.
Where the “Vosotros Hate” Really Comes From
The dislike usually boils down to two things:
Overcorrection
Some teachers simplify too aggressively. Instead of saying “you don’t need this right now,” they say “don’t learn it at all,” which turns into “it’s bad.”
Learner Anxiety
Spanish verb conjugations already scare people. Vosotros feels like one more thing standing between them and fluency, so it becomes the villain by default.
Should You Learn Vosotros or Skip It?
Here’s the honest answer:
- Learning Spanish for Latin America?
You can skip it without consequences. - Learning Spanish for Spain?
You need it. Full stop. - Want to understand Spanish media, travel freely, or sound natural everywhere?
Learn it eventually. It’s part of the language, whether people like it or not.
You don’t have to master it on day one. But pretending it doesn’t exist isn’t helpful either.
Why Vosotros Gets Blamed
Vosotros isn’t bad, rude, or incorrect. It’s just regional. The problem isn’t the pronoun. It’s the way learners are taught to think in absolutes: good vs bad, useful vs useless, allowed vs forbidden.
Spanish doesn’t work like that. Context decides everything. So no, vosotros isn’t the enemy. It’s just optional, until it isn’t. And if you ever find yourself in Spain, you’ll be glad you didn’t skip it.
Julianna Frisk
