22.09.2026

10 minutes to read

Reflexive pronouns show that an action is connected with the same person or thing that performs it.
For example:
Me lavo. — I wash myself.
Se viste. — He / she gets dressed.
Nos levantamos temprano. — We get up early.
In English, reflexive meaning is often expressed with words such as “myself,” “yourself,” or “themselves.” In Spanish, a separate pronoun is used with the verb.
The infinitive form of a reflexive verb ends in -se:
lavarse — to wash oneself
levantarse — to get up
vestirse — to get dressed
acostarse — to go to bed
When the verb is conjugated, -se changes to the correct reflexive pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se.

The form depends on the grammatical person.

It is important not to translate every reflexive pronoun literally. In many cases, English uses a completely different verb or does not use a reflexive pronoun at all.
Me ducho. — I take a shower.
A literal translation such as “I shower myself” would sound unnatural in English.

Let’s take the verb lavarse, “to wash oneself.”

Two things change at the same time: the verb is conjugated normally, while the reflexive pronoun changes according to the subject.

The position of the pronoun depends on the verb form.

When the verb is in a normal conjugated form, the reflexive pronoun goes before it.
Me levanto a las siete. — I get up at seven.
Te acuestas muy tarde. — You go to bed very late.
Se llama Marta. — Her name is Marta.
Nos vemos mañana. — See you tomorrow.
In negative sentences, no comes before the pronoun:
No me levanto temprano los domingos. — I do not get up early on Sundays.
No se acuerda de mí. — He / she does not remember me.

With an infinitive, the pronoun can be attached to the end of the verb.
Quiero levantarme temprano. — I want to get up early.
Voy a ducharme. — I am going to take a shower.
If there is a conjugated verb before the infinitive, another structure is also possible:
Me quiero levantar temprano.
Both versions are correct.
With a gerund, the pronoun can also be attached to the end:
Estoy vistiéndome. — I am getting dressed.
But you can also say:
Me estoy vistiendo.
With an affirmative command, the pronoun comes after the verb:
Levántate. — Get up.
Siéntese, por favor. — Sit down, please.
Vámonos. — Let’s go.
With a negative command, however, the pronoun goes before the verb again:
No te levantes. — Don’t get up.
No se preocupe. — Don’t worry.

Not every verb with se simply means that someone is doing something to themselves. In some cases, adding se changes the meaning of the verb.
For example:
ir — to go
irse — to leave, to go away
Voy al trabajo. — I am going to work.
Me voy a casa. — I am going home / I am leaving for home.
Another example:
dormir — to sleep
dormirse — to fall asleep
El niño duerme. — The child is sleeping.
El niño se duerme. — The child is falling asleep.
Or:
acordar — to agree, to decide
acordarse de — to remember
No me acuerdo de su nombre. — I do not remember his / her name.
That is why some verbs are best learned together with se, instead of trying to guess the meaning from the basic form every time.

Not every se is reflexive.
Spanish also uses impersonal constructions:
Se vive bien aquí. — People live well here / It is nice to live here.
Se trabaja mucho en esta empresa. — People work a lot in this company.
There is no specific person performing the action. The sentence has a general meaning.
There are also passive constructions:
Se venden pisos. — Apartments are for sale.
Se alquila habitación. — Room for rent.
Here se does not mean “oneself.” It is a separate grammatical structure and should not be confused with ordinary reflexive verbs.

One of the most common mistakes is forgetting to change se when conjugating the verb.
Incorrect:
Yo se levanto.
Correct:
Yo me levanto.
Another problem is incorrect word order.
You cannot say:
Yo levanto me.
With a normal conjugated verb, the correct form is:
Yo me levanto.
Learners also sometimes use a reflexive pronoun where it is not needed.
For example:
Lavo el coche. — I wash the car.
But:
Me lavo. — I wash myself.
In the first sentence, the action is directed at another object, so no reflexive pronoun is needed.
Another common mistake is assuming that every verb with se can be translated literally with “oneself.” That is not always true.
For example, irse does not mean “to go oneself.” It means “to leave” or “to go away.” That is why these forms should be learned in context.

Me despierto a las siete. — I wake up at seven.
Te lavas las manos antes de comer. — You wash your hands before eating.
Se pone el abrigo. — He / she puts on a coat.
Nos encontramos en el centro. — We meet in the city centre.
¿Os acordáis de este lugar? — Do you remember this place?
Se levantan muy temprano. — They get up very early.
Quiero acostarme antes hoy. — I want to go to bed earlier today.
Estamos preparándonos para el viaje. — We are getting ready for the trip.
No te preocupes. — Don’t worry.
Se habla español aquí. — Spanish is spoken here.
Reflexive pronouns may seem like an extra detail at first, especially when English expresses the same idea in a different way. But over time, forms such as me, te, se, nos, os, se start to feel like a natural part of the verb. The easiest way to get used to them is to learn complete phrases rather than isolated words: me levanto, te acuestas, nos vemos, se llama. That way, the correct pronoun gradually starts to appear automatically in speech.