How do you greet older people in spanish?

Answer 1

Parity in age isn't a very telling criterion for determining how you address someone in Spanish, although some social presumptions might be justifiable. What matters is how familiaryou are with someone. In Spanish, there is a verb for the action of using the familiar person in conversation: tutear. According to the The Real Academia Española, tutear means that all treatment of courtesy and respect are erased. This is what happens when you use the pronoun tú. Customarily tú is reserved for only those persons to whom you're very close, very familiar. Short of close personal familiarity, if you use túwith someone you don't know, you're showing discourtesy and disrespect. If you don't know the person, regardless of their age, you should play it safe and use usted.

Answer 2

Always use the formal tense when speaking to an elder whether or not the elder addresses you in the informal tense.

Señor or Señora followed by the last name is expected. If the elders insist on being referred to by first name then the title "Don" followed a man's first name or "Doña" (donya) followed by a woman's first name is acceptable, but at no time is it proper to refer to an elder without some title. At the age of 60 my father always refered to his mother-in-law as Doña (first name).

Answer 3

Grandmother: Abuela

Grandfather: Abuelo