Reflexive Verbs in Spanish

In Spanish, some verbs can describe an action you do to something else, while the reflexive form describes an action that happens to yourself.

For example:

Lavo la ropa. — I wash the clothes.
Lavo la fruta. — I wash the fruit.
Me lavo. — I wash myself.

The verb lavar means “to wash.” When the action comes back to the person doing it, Spanish uses the reflexive form lavarse.

You can see the same idea with other verbs:

levantar algo — to lift or raise something
levantarse — to get up
vestir a un niño — to dress a child
vestirse — to get dressed

So the -se form often tells you that the action relates back to the subject.

The infinitive ends in -se, as in lavarse, levantarse, vestirse, and llamarse.

Reflexive pronouns

The -se changes depending on who is doing the action.

Subject	Pronoun
yo	me
tú	te
él / ella / usted	se
nosotros/as	nos
vosotros/as	os
ellos / ellas / ustedes	se

To conjugate a reflexive verb:

Remove -se from the infinitive.
Conjugate the verb normally.
Add the reflexive pronoun that matches the subject.

For example:

levantarse → levantar → levanto → me levanto

Yo me levanto temprano. — I get up early.
Tú te levantas a las siete. — You get up at seven.
Ellos se levantan más tarde. — They get up later.

If you need to review verb endings, see the regular present tense.

Llamarse: saying your name

Llamar means “to call.” The reflexive form llamarse is commonly used to say what someone is called or what their name is.

Subject	Form
yo	me llamo
tú	te llamas
él / ella / usted	se llama
nosotros/as	nos llamamos
vosotros/as	os llamáis
ellos / ellas / ustedes	se llaman

Examples:

Me llamo Ana. — My name is Ana.
¿Cómo te llamas? — What is your name?
Mi hermano se llama Daniel. — My brother’s name is Daniel.
Nos llamamos Eva y Marta. — Our names are Eva and Marta.

Keep the reflexive pronoun:

✅ Me llamo Luis.
❌ Llamo Luis.

Common reflexive verbs for daily routines

Reflexive verbs are especially common when talking about daily routines and personal care.

Some useful beginner verbs are:

levantarse — to get up
ducharse — to shower
lavarse — to wash oneself
vestirse — to get dressed
acostarse — to go to bed
llamarse — to be called

Examples:

Me levanto temprano. — I get up early.
Te duchas por la mañana. — You shower in the morning.
Marta se viste a las ocho. — Marta gets dressed at eight.
Nos acostamos a las once. — We go to bed at eleven.
Los niños se lavan las manos. — The children wash their hands.

Some verbs, such as vestirse and acostarse, also have stem changes. The reflexive pronoun does not cause the change; the verb itself changes when conjugated.

Reflexive vs non-reflexive verbs

Some Spanish verbs can be used both with and without a reflexive pronoun.

Compare:

Lavo el coche. — I wash the car.
Me lavo. — I wash myself.

Or:

Levanto la caja. — I lift the box.
Me levanto. — I get up.

Without the reflexive pronoun, the action is directed at something else.

With the reflexive pronoun, the action relates back to the subject.

Body parts

When talking about body parts, Spanish usually uses the definite article el / la / los / las, not a possessive adjective.

Me lavo las manos. — I wash my hands.
Se cepilla los dientes. — He / She brushes his / her teeth.
Me lavo la cara. — I wash my face.

Because the reflexive pronoun already tells us whose body part it is, Spanish normally does not say mis manos or sus dientes in these sentences.

Common mistake: matching the pronoun

The reflexive pronoun must match the subject.

Yo me levanto.
Tú te levantas.
Ella se levanta.
Nosotros nos levantamos.
Vosotros os levantáis.
Ellos se levantan.

The verb must also match the subject.

For example:

✅ Ellos se levantan.
❌ Ellos se levanta.

Does -se always mean “myself” or “yourself”?

Not always.

For beginners, it is useful to think of many reflexive verbs as actions that relate back to the subject:

lavar → lavarse
levantar → levantarse
vestir → vestirse

However, Spanish also has verbs such as irse or quedarse where -se is part of the verb but does not literally mean “oneself.”

So a useful beginner rule is:

-se often shows that the action relates back to the subject, but some verbs simply need to be learned with -se.

Quick rule

A reflexive verb uses:

reflexive pronoun + conjugated verb

For example:

me levanto
te levantas
se levanta
nos levantamos

Reflexive verbs are very common when talking about daily routines. You can combine them with Spanish time expressions:

Me levanto a las siete.
Me ducho por la mañana.
Me acuesto a las once.

Practice with Daily Routines

Daily routines are a useful way to practise regular verb conjugation and reflexive verbs. Review the Daily Routine vocabulary, then see these verbs in context in Un día normal.