Learn

Reflexive Verbs

What are Reflexive Verbs?

Reflexive verbs describe an action that a person does to himself or herself. In English we say things like "I wash myself" or "He buys himself a new computer."

In German these verbs are more frequent than in English, and many of them describe everyday personal routines.

Why they matter

Because reflexive verbs often refer to daily activities, they are very useful when you want to talk about your morning routine, getting ready, or meeting friends.

Important Reflexive Verbs

Here are some of the most frequently used reflexive verbs in German. Learn each one with the reflexive pronoun sich:

sich amüsieren	to enjoy oneself
sich anziehen	to get dressed
sich ausziehen	to get undressed
sich beeilen	to hurry
sich duschen	to shower oneself
sich entscheiden	to decide
sich entschuldigen	to apologise
sich kämmen	to comb one's hair
sich rasieren	to shave
sich schminken	to put make-up on
sich treffen	to meet
sich umziehen	to change (clothes)
sich waschen	to wash oneself

Reflexive Pronouns (Accusative)

A reflexive verb is always accompanied by a reflexive pronoun — a word such as myself, yourself, or himself. Most reflexive verbs take the accusative pronouns: mich, dich, sich, uns, euch and sich.

Here is how they work with sich waschen ("to have a wash"):

ich	mich	Ich wasche mich. (I wash myself.)
du	dich	Du wäschst dich. (You wash yourself.)
er/sie/es	sich	Er wäscht sich. (He washes himself.)
wir	uns	Wir waschen uns. (We wash ourselves.)
ihr	euch	Ihr wascht euch. (You all wash yourselves.)
Sie/sie	sich	Sie waschen sich. (You/They wash yourself/themselves.)

More examples

When to Use a Dative Pronoun

Reflexive verbs normally take the accusative pronoun. A change happens only when you add information about what clothes you are putting on or what part of the body you are cleaning. The new item becomes the direct object, and the reflexive pronoun becomes the indirect object, taking the dative form.

This looks more complicated than it actually is. In practice it affects only the ich and du forms, because the accusative and dative pronouns are otherwise identical.

Dative pronoun overview

ich	mich	mir	Ich wasche mir die Haare. (I wash my hair.)
du	dich	dir	Du wäschst dir die Haare. (You wash your hair.)
er/sie/es	sich	sich	Er wäscht sich die Haare. (He washes his hair.)
wir	uns	uns	Wir waschen uns die Haare. (We wash our hair.)
ihr	euch	euch	Ihr wascht euch die Haare. (You all wash your hair.)
Sie/sie	sich	sich	Sie waschen sich die Haare. (You/They wash your/their hair.)

Separable Reflexive Verbs

When a reflexive verb is separable, the reflexive pronoun follows the finite verb and the prefix goes to the end of the clause.

Common separable reflexive verbs

anziehen	sich anziehen	to get dressed
ausziehen	sich ausziehen	to get undressed
umziehen	sich umziehen	to change (clothes)

More Useful Expressions

These everyday expressions all use a reflexive pronoun with a body part:

sich das Gesicht waschen	to wash one's face
sich die Hände waschen	to wash one's hands
sich die Zähne putzen	to brush one's teeth
sich die Nase putzen	to blow one's nose

Examples in sentences

Study Tips

Always learn reflexive verbs together with sich, e.g. sich waschen, not just waschen.
Ask yourself: is there a direct object (clothes / body part)? If yes, use the dative reflexive pronoun for ich and du.
With separable verbs, remember: conjugated verb → reflexive pronoun → prefix at the end.
Most reflexive pronouns are accusative: mich, dich, sich, uns, euch, sich.

← From Previous (e16)

Building on Possessive Adjectives: You learned how to express ownership with mein, dein, sein, etc. Now combine them with reflexive verbs to describe your personal routines — Ich wasche meine Hände or Ich ziehe mein neues Kleid an.

→ Coming Next (e18)

Prepare for Negatives: Learn how to say "I don't wash myself" or "He doesn't get dressed" using nicht and kein. Essential for expressing what you don't do in your daily routine!