Spanish Reflexive Verbs and Pronouns

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Reflexive verbs and pronouns in Spanish (verbos reflexivos y pronombres en español) indicate that the action of the verb reflects back on the subject. In other words, the subject is performing the action on himself or herself. Also see Reciprocal Actions in Spanish.

Reflexive verbs are often used to describe things you do to yourself every day, for example, showering, sitting down, getting up, getting happy, and so on. In Spanish, use of reflexive verbs is more common than in English, and many of these verbs are used in everyday language.

Spanish Reflexive Verbs / Pronouns Conjugation

Subject Pronoun	Reflexive Pronoun	Meaning	Example
Yo	Me	Myself (yo mismo)	Me compré un nuevo celular. I (myself) bought a new cell phone.
Tú	Te	Yourself (tú mismo)	Te confundes todo el tiempo. You get confused all the time.
Él / Ella / Usted	Se	Himself/herself/yourself (él/ella mismo)	Ella se quemó. She burned herself.
Nosotros / Nosotras	Nos	Ourselves (nosotros mismos)	Nosotros nos iremos de viaje. We ourselves will go on a trip.
Vosotros / Vosotras	Os	Yourselves (vosotros mismos)	¿Vosotros os bañáis todos los días? Do you bathe (yourselves) everyday?
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes	Se	Themselves/Yourselves (ellos/ustedes mismos)	Se han mudado de casa varias veces. (They) have moved house several times.

Notes:

• Reflexive verbs are used with the appropriate reflexive pronoun in the present tense.
• In Spanish, reflexive pronouns are placed before the conjugated verb.
• Pronouns Él/Ella/Usted/Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes have the same reflexive pronoun ‘se‘.

Using Reflexive Verbs in Spanish

• In Spanish, reflexive verbs and pronouns are used to express feelings, emotions and moods.

Examples:

Vi a Luisa y me enamoré de ella.
I saw Luisa and I fell in love with her.

Camila se molesta cuando Juan no llega a tiempo.
Camila gets upset when Juan doesn’t show up on time.

Anna y Maria se divierten con los videojuegos.
Anna and Maria have fun with video games.

• Reflexive verbs can be used to describe habits, personal care and routines.

Siempre me olvido de traer mis llaves.
I always forget to bring my keys.

Yo me despierto a las ocho de la mañana.
I wake up at eight in the morning.

Yo me cepillo los dientes dos veces al dia.
I brush my teeth twice a day.

• In Spanish, actions regarding personal care and items of clothing are used with a definite article preceding parts of the body. However, in English, possessive adjectives are used instead.

Examples:

Nos lavamos las manos.
We wash our hands.

Claudia se peina el cabello.
Claudia (herself) combs her hair.

Se quitan los zapatos antes de entrar.
They take off their shoes before entering.

Common Reflexive Verbs in Spanish Table

Some reflexive verbs are used with certain prepositions.

Verb	Meaning	Example
Aburrirse (de)	to get bored (with)	Me aburrí de ver la película. I got bored of watching the movie.
Acordarse (de)	to remember	No se acordó de comprar frutas. (He) did not remember to buy fruit.
Afeitarse	to shave	Me afeito todas las semanas. I shave every week.
Alegrarse (de)	to be glad, rejoice (about)	Lara se alegra de verte. Lara (herself) is glad to see you.
Despertarse	to wake up	Hoy me desperté tarde. I woke up late today.
Disgustarse (de, con)	to be upset (about, over, with)	Tú te disgustastes con Marcel. You got upset with Marcel.
Divertirse (con)	to enjoy (oneself) (with)	Me divierto con la abuela. I have fun with Grandma.
Enfermarse	to get sick, ill	Andre se enferma cuando come dulces. Andre gets sick when he eats sweets.
Enloquecerse	to go crazy	Nosotros nos enloquecemos con esa canción. We go crazy with that song.
Enojarse (con)	to get mad (at)	Ella se enoja con la vecina. She gets mad at the neighbor.
Maquillarse	to put on makeup	Carla se maquilla todas las mañanas. Carla (herself) puts on makeup every morning.
Olvidarse (de)	to forget (about)	Tú te olvidas de llevar las llaves. You forget to bring the keys.
Peinarse	to comb one’s hair	Yo me peino el cabello. I comb my hair.
Probarse	to try on	Camila se prueba la camisa azul. Camila tries on her blue shirt.
Sentarse	to sit down	Carmen se sienta en el sofá. Carmen sits on the sofa.
Volverse	to become	Laura se volvió enfermera. Laura became a nurse.

More Usage Examples of Reflexives Verbs and Pronouns

Examples:

Ustedes se olvidan de las reglas.
You forget the rules.

Yo me afeito la barba cada semana.
I shave my beard every week.

Nosotros nos duchamos con agua fría.
We shower with cold water.

Yo me quito los guantes.
I take off my gloves.

Me comí el pastel.
I ate the whole cake.

Anita se aburre en la clase de matemáticas.
Anita gets bored in math class.

Me lavo las manos.
I wash my hands.

Also see Reflexive Verbs vs Reciprocal Verbs Difference.

Conjugating Reflexive Verbs in Different Tenses

Reflexive verbs can be used in all tenses and moods; present, past, future, indicative, conditional and subjunctive. Make sure to use the appropriate reflexive pronoun.

Examples:

Me cepillaré los dientes antes de dormir.
I will brush my teeth before sleeping.

Ella se lavó la cara cuando se despertó.
She washed her face when she woke up.

Amelía se enojaría conmigo.
Amelia would be mad at me.

See stem-changing and irregular reflexive verbs in Spanish.