Reflexive verbs In Spanish: The only guide you need
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More infoReflexive verbs in Spanish are used all the time, and can take several forms. Mastering them is an important step in becoming a competent speaker, so we bring you this updated guide to show how and when to use reflexive verbs in Spanish.
Weāll go step by step, starting at the beginning with what is a reflexive verb. Weāll introduce the reflexive pronouns, and weāll see where to place them in different types of sentences. Then weāll focus on the three major types of reflexive pronouns in Spanish: natural reflexives, reciprocal reflexives, and non-reflexive verbsĀ that can be used reflexively.
As we do in all our lessons, weāll provide plenty of examplesĀ to demonstrate how to use reflexive verbs in Spanish. Weāll also provide a list of reflexive verbsĀ in Spanish for each of the three types. So without further ado, letās get started!
What is a reflexive verb in Spanish?
In simple terms, reflexive verbs in Spanish are used when a person performs an action on, for, or to themself.
For example, I wake (myself) up, he gets (himself) dressed, she showered (herself), and so on.
In other words, both the subject and the indirect object of a reflexive verb are the same person or thing.
This means that the subject pronounsĀ (yo, tĆŗ, Ć©l, ella, usted, nosotros, nosotras, vosotros, vosotras, ellos, ellas, ustedes) will always be affected by the action, and will match the reflexive pronounsĀ (me, te, se, nos, os, se). Weāll go into more detail on the reflexive pronouns below.
How do you identify a reflexive verb?
As we’ll cover later in this post, reflexive verbsĀ come in many forms.
We can identify reflexive verbs by their verb endings in the infinitive verb form: Spanish reflexive verbs always end in se, which is the neutral reflexive pronoun. Examples are conocerseĀ (to know each other), llamarseĀ (to call oneself), or maquillarseĀ (to put makeup on oneself).
Before we see our first list of reflexive verbs in Spanish, however, we need to take a slight detour to review the reflexive pronouns.
What is a reflexive pronoun?
The reflexive pronoun is key to identifying reflexive verbs. All Spanish reflexive verbs require a reflexive pronoun; otherwise theyāre not reflexive verbs!
In many cases the verb will mean something else if it doesnāt have a reflexive pronoun. Sometimes it wonāt even make any sense at all!
Letās take the verb baƱar, which means to bathe. In its reflexive form we add the reflexive pronoun se: baƱarseĀ becomes a reflexive verb meaning to bathe oneself.
Weāll cover more verbs like this later. For now, letās focus on each reflexive pronoun and how to use them.
What are the six reflexive pronouns in Spanish?
There are actually only five reflexive pronouns in Spanish that you need to learn, since seĀ is the same third-person pronoun for both singular and plural. Here we present all the reflexive pronouns Spanish uses, organized by grammaticalĀ person.
Reflexive pronouns, Spanish | Singular | Plural |
First-person | me | nos |
Second-person | teĀ (se) | osĀ (se) |
Third-person | se | se |
Note that weāve only included seĀ as second-person pronouns when they refer to ustedĀ or ustedes, which both mean youĀ in Spanish. In Spanish grammar, these are considered third-person pronouns, with their corresponding third-person verb conjugations. OsĀ is rarely used outside of Spain since it corresponds to vosotrosĀ and vosotras, which are the second-person plural pronouns for you. We explain the differences between all of these in our detailed post on You in Spanish.
The reflexive pronouns in English generally end in -selfĀ or -selves, as in myselfĀ or yourselves. Weāll also see how reflexive pronouns can be used reciprocally, with translations closer to one anotherĀ or each other. In many cases, the English pronoun is omitted entirely from the translation, even when itās required in Spanish.
We have a dedicated lesson on Spanish reflexive pronounsĀ where we go into a lot more detail, but this is enough for now so you know what they are. Now weāre ready to see how to use them.
Where to place reflexive pronouns in a sentence
Reflexive pronouns are typically placed before conjugated verbs.
- TĆŗ teĀ afeitas todas las semanas. – You shave (yourself) every week.
- Yo meĀ despierto a las 6 de la maƱana. – I wake (myself) up at 6am.
For negative commands, the reflexive pronoun is placed between the Spanish negation word noĀ andĀ the conjugated verb.
- No seĀ preocupen, todo estĆ” bien. – Donāt worry (guys), everything is fine.
There are a few sentence structures where reflexive pronouns donāt have to be placed before the conjugated verbs. Weāll introduce each one here before we move on to the three categories of Spanish reflexive verbs.
When we have a sentence that includes an infinitive verb form, the pronoun can be placed before the conjugated verb or attached to the end of the infinitive verb.
- No seĀ van a saludar. – They wonāt say hello to each other.
- No vas a salirteĀ con la tuya. – You are not going to get away with it.
The same placement applies when we use the progressive verb formsĀ (equivalent to -ingĀ in English): either before the conjugated auxiliary verb (usually estar) or attached to the end of the gerund.
- MeĀ estaba duchando cuando me llamaste. – I was showering when you called.
- Estaba lavĆ”ndomeĀ la cara, perdona. – I was washing my face, sorry.
We saw above that with negative commands, we place the reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb. With affirmative commands in Spanish, on the other hand, we attach the reflexive pronoun directly to the end of the conjugated verb.
- LevĆ”ntateĀ temprano maƱana, es un dĆa importante. – Wake up early tomorrow, itāsĀ an important day.
Now that weāve seen a basic explanation of reflexive verbs, we can examine their use in further detail.
What are the three types of reflexive verbs in Spanish?
Spanish reflexive verbs can be broken down into three main categories: natural reflexives, reciprocal reflexives, and non-reflexive verbs. Weāll look at each one in turn in the next sections.
Natural reflexivesĀ are verbs which are easily identified as reflexive, since the pronoun seĀ is attached to the infinitive (dormirse, baƱarse, arrepentirse).
- Me arrepientoĀ de todo lo que hice. – I regretĀ everything I have done.
Reciprocal reflexivesĀ are used to describe an action being performed by two or more people at the same time, and normally on each other.
- Patricia y Ana se maquillanĀ antes de salir. – Patricia and Ana put makeup on each otherĀ before going out.
Many non-reflexive verbs can still be used with reflexive pronouns, in which case they take on a different meaning. For example, volverĀ is a non-reflexive verb meaning to return, while volverseĀ means to become.
- Yo vuelvoĀ a Asia la prĆ³xima semana. – I returnĀ to Asia next week.
- Ellos se volvieronĀ amigos despuĆ©s de unos aƱos. – They becameĀ friends after a couple of years.
So how do you use reflexive Spanish verbs? The answer to this question will depend on which type of reflexive verb you are using. Letās take a look at each of these three categories to see how to use reflexive verbs in Spanish.
Natural Reflexives
Natural reflexivesĀ are what first come to mind when we think of reflexive verbs in Spanish, since many describe actions that people generally do on themselves. In other words, these are the Spanish verbs that are most commonly used for reflexive actions.
Many of these natural reflexives can be classed as routine verbs, since we use them when speaking about daily actions, routines, and personal care. These verbs are reflexive by nature, since theyāre used to describe an action being performed on the subject.
Some natural reflexives can still be used as non-reflexive verbs in Spanish. They often keep the same meaning, but describe the action being performed on somebody else than the subject. In these cases, we use direct object pronounsĀ instead of reflexive pronouns.
For example, in this first sentence we use the reflexive form of afeitarseĀ (to shave) to indicate that the subject is doing the action for themself.
- Yo me afeitoĀ la barba en la maƱana. – I shaveĀ my beard in the morning.
When we use the same verb in its non-reflexive form afeitar, we indicate that the direct object of the verbās action is somebody different from the subject who is performing the action.
- Yo afeitoĀ la barba de mi abuelo en la tarde. – I shaveĀ my grandfather’sĀ beard in the afternoon.
You may have noticed that when we use these reflexive verbs to talk about an action we do on ourselves like shaving, we donāt use the possessive adjective in Spanish. Instead, we just use the indefinite articleĀ along with the reflexive pronoun to convey the same meaning: āyo meĀ afeitoĀ laĀ barbaā means āI shave myĀ beard.ā We explain this more in our post on possessive adjectives in Spanish.
Reflexive verbs for daily actions
Now, letās review the most common reflexive verbs for speaking about daily actions. Notice that the non-reflexive forms mostly have the same meaning, except that they need to have a different direct object.
To compare these reflexive vs non-reflexive verbs we could say that the former usually includes oneselfĀ while the latter can include someone elseĀ (as in to shave oneselfĀ vs to shave someone elseĀ for afeitarseĀ vs afeitar, for example)
Reflexive verbs, Spanish | English | Non reflexive verbs, Spanish | English | |
acostarse | to lie down, to go to bed | acostar | to lay down | |
afeitarse | to shave oneself | afeitar | to shave | |
baƱarse | to bathe oneself | baƱar | to bathe | |
cepillarse | to brush oneself | cepillar | to brush | |
despertarse | to wake up | despertar | to wake up, to rouse | |
dormirse | to fall asleep, to go to sleep | dormir | to sleep | |
lavarse | to wash oneself | lavar | to wash | |
maquillarse | to put makeup on oneself | maquillar | to put makeup on | |
peinarse | to comb oneselfās hair | peinar | to comb | |
sentarse | to sit, to take a seat | sentar | to seat |
Now letās see a few examples of how to use these reflexive Spanish verbs for daily routines.
- SiĆ©ntateĀ acĆ”, ya vuelvo. – Sit here, Iāll be right back.
- Siempre me ha gustado cepillarmeĀ antes de baƱarme. – I have always liked to brush my hairĀ before taking a bath.
- Ve a vestirteĀ para salir temprano. – Go and get dressedĀ so that we can leave early.
- TĆŗ puedes acostarteĀ en el sofĆ” toda la noche si quieres. Yo prefiero dormirmeĀ en mi cama. – You can lieĀ on the couch all night if you want. I prefer to fall asleepĀ in my bed.
Reflexive verbs for emotions and moods
Another set of natural reflexives are used to describe emotions and moods. In their reflexive forms, these verbs refer to the feelings of the subject. Non-reflexively, the same verbs generally need a direct object.
Here are some of the most common Spanish reflexive verbs for emotions, along with their non-reflexive counterparts.
Reflexive verbs, Spanish | English | Non reflexive verbs, Spanish | English | |
aburrirse | to get bored | aburrir | to bore | |
alegrarse | to be pleased, to be happy | alegrar | to cheer up, to lighten up | |
asustarse | to get scared, to be frightened | asustar | to scare, to frighten | |
cansarse | to get tired, to tire | cansar | to tire, to annoy | |
divertirse | to enjoy onself, to have a good time | divertir | to amuse | |
sentirse | to feel (psychological) | sentir | to feel (physical) |
Letās see a few examples with these reflexive verbs of emotion.
- Me alegraĀ mucho que vengas. – It makes me happyĀ that youāre coming.
- La niƱa se divierteĀ con el gatito. – The girl amuses herselfĀ with the kitten.
- Me sientoĀ menos solo con muchas plantas en casa. – I feelĀ less alone with many plants in the house.
Now compare the previous examples with these next ones where we use the non-reflexive forms of the same verbs. The meanings are similar, but they require direct objects to understand who or what is being affected by the verbās action.
- TĆŗ alegrasĀ mi dĆa. – You brighten upĀ my day.
- El gatito divierteĀ a la niƱa. – The kitten amusesĀ the girl.
- SientoĀ la tierra antes de regar las plantas. – I feelĀ the soil before watering the plants.
Truly natural reflexives
The final set of verbs weāll mention in this section can only be used with the reflexive pronouns. There are no non-reflexive versions of these verbs, so they are truly natural reflexives.
Unlike the other Spanish verbs we saw in the previous lists, these verbs donāt have another meaning if we use them without reflexive pronouns; instead, they just wonāt make any sense.
Reflexive verbs, Spanish | English |
adentrarse | to enter |
adormilarse | to doze off |
adueƱarse | to take ownership |
arrepentirse | to regret |
casarse | to get married |
desvestir | to get undressed |
desinteresarse | to become disinterested, to lose interest |
dignarse | to condescend |
suicidarse | to commit suicide |
quitarse | to take off |
Letās see a few examples of how these reflexive verbs are used.
- Estabas adormilĆ”ndoteĀ en el viaje hacia acĆ”. – You were getting sleepyĀ on the way here.
- Debes arrepentirteĀ de perder tanto tiempo en eso. – You must regretĀ wasting so much time on that.
- Este otoƱo, mi hermano se casaĀ con su novia de la universidad. – This fall, my brother is marryingĀ his sweetheart from university.
- Ella se desinteresĆ³Ā una vez que descubriĆ³ mi edad. – She became disinterestedĀ once she found out my age.
To be honest, weāve simplified things a bit by grouping these different Spanish reflexive verb lists together under the same banner of natural reflexives. We go into a lot more detail on how they differ in our advanced grammar post on all the different uses of Se in Spanish. For todayās lesson though, this grouping is adequate for understanding how to use reflexive verbs in Spanish.
Reciprocal reflexive verbs
As their name suggests, reciprocal reflexivesĀ are verbs that describe actions that two or more subjects perform on each other at the same time. Since the action is reciprocal, we always have a plural subject and use the corresponding plural reflexive pronoun: nos, os, or se.
Hereās a list of Spanish verbs that are common reciprocal reflexives. Weāll use each one in an example below.
Reciprocal reflexive verb, Spanish | English |
conocerse | to know each other |
saludarse | to say hello to each other, to greet each other |
golpearse | to hit each other |
contarse | to recount to each other, to tell one another |
lastimarse | to hurt each other |
pelearse | to fight each other |
insultarse | to insult each other |
- Paolo y SofĆa se conocenĀ hace mucho tiempo. – Paolo and SofĆa know each otherĀ since a long time.
- EllosĀ se saludanĀ en la oficina. – They say hello to each otherĀ at the office.
- Los peleadores se golpeanĀ fuerte. – The fighters hit each otherĀ hard.
- Raquel y yo nos contamosĀ todo – Raquel and I tell each otherĀ everything.
- Los competidores se lastiman. – The competitors hurt each other.
- Carlos y yo nos peleamosĀ casi todos los dĆas. – Carlos and I fight one anotherĀ almost every day.
- Ellas se insultanĀ por el chico. – They insult each otherĀ because of the boy.
Youāll notice that the closest English translation for reciprocal reflexives is: action verb + each other.
Donāt try to translate each otherĀ in Spanish with additional reciprocal words or phrases like entre sĆ orĀ el uno al otro. The reciprocal reflexive pronouns already tell us that the action is being performed by the two subjects on each other.
The only reason you might use these words is to place emphasis on who is receiving the action.
- Patricia y DamiĆ”n se amanĀ el uno al otro. – Patricia and DamiĆ”n love each other.
Even when we donāt add an additional eachĀ other, the sentence is understood as a reciprocal action just by properly using the reflexive pronouns.
- Joseph y yo nos saludamosĀ en la maƱana. – Joseph and I said hello to each otherĀ in the morning.
Finally, we should mention that other Spanish verbs that arenāt typically reciprocal verbs can, in the right context, be used this way to indicate a reciprocal action when two or more subjects are involved.
- Franco y Bianca se comenĀ a besos. – Franco and Bianca eat each other upĀ with kisses.
- Mis amigos se adivinabanĀ los pensamientos. – My friends guessed each otherāsĀ thoughts.
This brings us to our final category of reflexive verbs in Spanish, which are normally non-reflexive but can still be used reflexively sometimes.
Non-reflexive verbs
As you may have guessed, verbs that are used without reflexive pronouns are considered non-reflexive verbsĀ in Spanish. However, many non-reflexive verbs also have reflexive counterparts. Weāll take a look at these reflexive vs non-reflexive verbs here.
These verbs are ones that can easily land you in trouble, since most of the time the meaning of the verb changes as well – sometimes drastically.
Whether the verb takes a reflexive pronoun or not directly affects who is concerned by the verbās action. With a reflexive pronoun, the verb affects the subject just like the natural reflexives we saw earlier. Without a reflexive pronoun, the action of the verb affects a direct object that is different from the verbās subject.
As an example, letās look at what happens to the non-reflexive verb levantarĀ (to pick up, to lift) when we add reflexive pronouns to make it levantarseĀ (to get up).
- Andrea levantaĀ los libros. – Andrea picks upĀ the books.
- Andrea se levantaĀ temprano. – Andrea gets upĀ early.
In the first non-reflexive example, Andreaās action is affecting the books. In the next reflexive example, Andreaās action is affecting herself.
Now letās see a list of non-reflexive verbs that have distinct reflexive counterparts.
Reflexive verbs, Spanish | English | Non-reflexive verbs, Spanish | English | |
acercarse | to get closer | acercar | to bring closer | |
caerse | to fall down, to fall over, to fall out | caer | to fall, to fall for | |
encontrarse | to find (someone) | encontrar | to find | |
irse | to leave | ir | to go | |
levantarse | to get up | levantar | to pick up, to lift | |
llamarse | to be called, to be named | llamar | to call | |
negarse | to decline, to refuse | negar | to deny | |
ocuparse | to take care of (something) | ocupar | to occupy, to fill | |
perderse | to become lost, to miss something | perder | to lose | |
referirse | to refer | referir | to narrate | |
retirarse | to back out, to retire | retirar | to remove | |
reunirse | to gather, to get together | reunir | to collect | |
secarse | to dry off | secar | to dry | |
volverse | to become | volver | to return | |
ponerse | to put on | poner | to put | |
quedarse | to stay | quedar | to set a meeting, to agree on (something) |
As you can see in this table, many non-reflexive verbs in Spanish take on a completely different meaning when used with reflexive pronouns.
This naturally causes a lot of confusion when you mistakenly misuse reflexive pronouns.
Letās see a few more examples where we use the reflexive and non-reflexive verbs distinctly.
- Ese mueble ocupaĀ mucho espacio en la sala de estar. – That piece of furniture takes upĀ too much space in the living room.
- Yo me ocupo de sacarlo de aquĆ. – Iāll take care ofĀ getting it out of here.
- Ella poneĀ las llaves sobre la mesa al llegar del trabajo. – SheĀ laysĀ her keys on the table when she comes home from work.
- Ella se pone un vestido para ir a trabajar. – She puts on a dress to go to work.
- Danilo retiraĀ sus ahorros del banco. – Danilo withdraws his savings from the bank.
- Ćl no se retiraĀ de la carrera aunque va de Ćŗltimo. – He doesn’t drop out of the race even though he is in last place.
Conclusion: Reflexive verbs in Spanish
This wraps up our full guide on how to use reflexive verbs in Spanish. Letās do a quick recap before we go. Once youāre through, weāll leave you with a set of exercises where you can practice conjugating reflexive verbs with the right reflexive pronouns.
We started todayās lesson with a basic rundown to explain what are reflexive pronounsĀ in Spanish. We saw that they come in many forms, but the main unifier is that they always have the pronoun seĀ attached to the end of their infinitive form. We also learned all of the reflexive pronouns in Spanish that correspond with each grammatical person (me, te, se, nos, os, se).
Once weād seen the basics on sentence structure, we went into more detail on the different categories of reflexive pronouns Spanish has. We explained the particularities of each category, providing Spanish verb lists for each one. You should now be able to recognize the differences between reflexive verbs for daily routine, for emotions, and for reciprocal actions, for example. Youāre also familiar with the different meanings that many non-reflexive verbs take when theyāre used reflexively.
By applying the concepts weāve laid out in this lesson, you should be well on your way to mastering the reflexive verbs in Spanish. Keep practicing, and theyāll come naturally to you soon enough!
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Practice: Reflexive verbs in Spanish
Complete the sentences by properly conjugating the reflexive verbs in parentheses. Remember to use the correct reflexive pronoun. The correct answers are below.
1.Todos los dĆas luego de _____ (levantarse), _____ (lavarse) la cara. – Every day after waking up, I washĀ my face.
2. Recuerda _____Ā (lavarse) los dientes antes de salir. – Remember to brushĀ your teeth before going out.
3. Mis familiares _____ (reunirse) todos los aƱos en esta fecha. – My family members gatherĀ every year around this time.
4. _____ (Asustarse) cuando vieron todo el trabajo que tenĆan que hacer. – They got scaredĀ after seeing how much work they had to do.
5. Luego de vivir solo, Carlos _____ (volverse) una persona mucho mĆ”s responsable. – After living alone, Carlos becameĀ a much more responsible person.
6. Ā”_____ (Perderse) el partido por llegar tarde! – You missedĀ the game by being late!
7. Es una niƱa pequeƱa asĆ que _____ (aburrirse) muy fĆ”cil. – Sheās aĀ little girl, so she gets boredĀ easily.
8. _____ (Arrepentirse) por muchas de las cosas que habĆa hecho. – He regrettedĀ many of the things he had done.
9. Ayer _____ (dormirse)Ā muy temprano. – We fell asleepĀ early yesterday
10. No _____ (quedarse) aquĆ, estĆ” haciendo frĆo y es peligroso. – Donāt stay here, itās cold and dangerous.
Answers:
1. Todos los dĆas luego de levantarme, me lavo la cara.
2. Recuerda lavarteĀ los dientes antes de salir.
3. Mis familiares se reĆŗnenĀ todos los aƱos en esta fecha.
4. Se asustaronĀ cuando vieron todo el trabajo que tenĆan que hacer.
5. Luego de vivir solo, Carlos se volviĆ³Ā una persona mucho mĆ”s responsable.
6. Ā”Te perdisteĀ el partido por llegar tarde!
7. Es una niƱa pequeƱa asĆ que se aburreĀ muy fĆ”cil.
8. Se arrepintiĆ³Ā por muchas de las cosas que habĆa hecho.
9. Ayer nos dormimosĀ muy temprano.
10. No se quedenĀ aquĆ. EstĆ” haciendo frĆo y es peligroso.