Reflexive pronouns in Spanish are small, multipurpose words that work in conjunction with subject pronouns and verbs. They generally indicate an action that a subject is performing on itself—but not always! Sometimes they’re used as part of naturally reflexive verbs, and other times they’re used to talk about mutual actions.
If you’re unclear about reflexive pronouns and their Spanish grammar rules, we’re here to help you break down this complex topic into easy-to-understand concepts. Once you get familiar with the basic ideas, it’s not difficult to master the reflexive pronouns and learn Spanish.
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What is a reflexive pronoun in Spanish?
One of the dictionary definitions of the word “reflexive” in English refers to the relationship of something to itself. An easy way to remember this is by thinking about what happens when you look into a lake on a sunny day: You see a reflection of yourself. So, when you think about “reflexive,” think “reflection.”
Reflexive pronouns in Spanish work similarly to the lake image by referring to the person (or thing) doing the action, but they do not always directly reflect back on the subject of the sentence.
How to use Spanish reflexive pronouns with subject pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are sometimes used in conjunction with subject pronouns in Spanish. The subject pronouns in Spanish are yo, tú, él / ella / usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos / ustedes. As in English, use subject pronouns to refer to subjects without actually using a name. For example, ella means “she.” You might use ella instead of María to avoid repeating María’s name numerous times in a row.
You can also use subject pronouns to orient yourself when learning reflexive pronouns because they work together. That said, it’s important to remember that subject pronouns are optional in Spanish.
To help you understand the reflexive pronouns, you can often add “myself,” “yourself,” “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “ourselves,” and “yourselves” to the verb used with the reflexive pronoun to translate to English. Here’s an example sentence:
- Yo me levanto. = I get (myself) up.
Yo (I) is the subject pronoun, and me is the reflexive pronoun. While the correct translation is “I get up,” conceptually the phrase has the sense of “I get (myself) up” or “I raise my body up myself.” The subject pronoun yo is optional: It is equally acceptable to say me levanto, and indeed more common. But for learning purposes, it’s best to use the subject pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns and their corresponding subject pronouns chart
Take a look at all five reflexive pronouns in Spanish with their corresponding subject pronouns in all their uses.
| Subject pronoun | Reflexive pronoun | Example sentence | English |
| yo | me | Yo me levanto. | I get (myself) up. |
| tú (singular, informal) | te | Tú te levantas. | You get (yourself) up. |
| él / ella / usted | se | Ella se levanta. | She gets (herself) up. |
| nosotros / as | nos | Nosotros nos levantamos. | We get (ourselves) up. |
| vosotros / as(plural, informal) | os | Vosotros os levantáis.* | You get (yourselves) up. |
| ustedes / ellos(plural, formal) | se | Ustedes se levantan. | You get (yourselves) up. |
*Note that the vosotros form is only used in certain Spanish-speaking areas.
When to use reflexive pronouns in Spanish
As you can see, reflexive pronouns in Spanish are used in many ways to talk about actions done by a subject to itself. They’re often used when talking about daily routines or self-care. A good way to remember this is that nearly everything most people do in the morning to get themselves ready for work or school, from getting up to getting dressed, needs a reflexive pronoun in Spanish.
Use reflexive pronouns to talk about a subject acting upon itself
Reflexive pronouns help you talk about situations where the subject is acting upon itself or propelling its own body.
- Yo me baño. = I bathe (take a bath or shower).
- Yo me visto. = I get dressed.
Use reflexive pronouns to talk about an implied self-action
However, there are more subtleties to the issue. Take this example:
- Yo me peino. = I comb my hair.
Here, there’s something implied: hair. It’s not quite that the subject is combing him or herself; it’s that the subject is combing his or her hair (one part of the body). This is somewhat different from the idea of getting up or sitting down (when the whole body is acted upon or propelled).
Use reflexive pronouns with objects
Likewise, we sometimes use a reflexive pronoun with a grammatical object. Here, the subject is brushing his or her own teeth. There’s no implied body part receiving the action. Rather, it’s spelled out.
- Yo me lavo los dientes. = I brush my teeth.
Note, too, that in Spanish, you don’t say Yo me lavo mis dientes with the possessive. Instead, use the more impersonal definitive pronoun los (the) because the me already makes it clear to whom the teeth belong.
Similarly, when the subject is plural and each person owns something that is singular, such as hair, the object being acted upon is singular.
- Nosotros nos lavamos la cara. = We wash our faces.
The implication here is that each person washes his or her own face.
How to use reflexive pronouns to form reflexive verbs
Reflexive pronouns are also used with conjugated common Spanish verbs. Although it’s possible to create your own reflexive statement from many verbs, certain verbs are considered reflexive by nature—and not all of them are subjects performing actions on themselves. Sometimes they have the sense of becoming.
These verbs must always take the reflexive pronoun, and their meaning is different from the same verb without the reflexive pronoun.
| Verb | Non-reflexive example | Reflexive example |
| ir | Fui a la biblioteca.(I went to the library.) | Me fui a la biblioteca.(I left for the library.) |
| llevar | Llevo a Gabriela a la clínica.(I take Gabriela to the clinic.) | Me llevo bien con Gabriela.(I get along well with Gabriela.) |
| poner | Pongo la taza en la mesa.(I put the cup on the table.) | Me pongo los zápatos.(I put on my shoes.) |
It’s important to remember the infinitive is the “to” form of the verb, meaning the full unconjugated form, such as ser (“to be”).
Seeing a verb infinitive listed with –se at the end generally clues you into the fact that it is a reflexive verb. But you’ll still use the reflexive pronouns listed above to conjugate the verbs. Let’s take a common example: the verb llamarse. Technically, it means to call oneself, but you can use it to talk about your name. Thus, Yo me llamo Paulo means “I’m Paulo.”
Where to place reflexive pronouns in a sentence
As you’ve seen, a reflexive pronoun in Spanish generally goes before a conjugated verb yet tacks onto the end of an infinitive. But there are additional ways that reflexive pronouns can be placed.
Using reflexive pronouns with infinitive verbs after a conjugated verb
Just as you do in English, verbs that come after a conjugated verb are left in the infinitive.
- Quiero comer sushi. = I want to eat sushi.
When it comes to reflexive verbs used after a conjugated verb, the same thing applies.
- Quiero bañarme. = I want to bathe.
Using reflexive pronouns with the present participle
Reflexive pronouns can be used at the end of a present particle. The present participle is the “-ing” form of the verb. In Spanish, it’s expressed as -ando, like this:
- Me estoy bañando. = I am bathing.
With this form, it’s possible to place the reflexive pronoun at the end of the present participle, too.
- Estoy bañándome. = I am bathing.
In that case, the present participle also takes an accent because another syllable—the reflexive pronoun—has been added to the end of the present participle.
Using reflexive pronouns to emphasize an action
Sometimes you want to emphasize an action, especially when talking about finishing something by yourself. There’s a sense of completion and sometimes even achievement in this case. You can use reflexive pronouns in Spanish for this purpose, too.
- La ensalada se ve deliciosa. Me la como. = The salad looks delicious. I’m going to eat it all up.
- ¿Las tablas de multiplicación? Me las sé de memoria. = The multiplication tables? I have them memorized.
Using reflexive pronouns for reciprocal actions
Por último (finally), reflexive pronouns are used for reciprocal actions. This has the same sense as the reflexive pronouns used for a subject that performs an action on itself except, in this case, there are two or more subjects performing the action on each other.
- Las gatas se abrazan. = The (female) cats hug (each other).
- Las gatas se lamen. = The (female) cats lick (each other).
In the second example, there is a bit of ambiguity. The cats could be licking each other, but they could also be each individually licking themselves to clean their own fur. In this case, you might need further clarification from context to understand exactly what is happening.
Key takeaways about reflexive pronouns in Spanish
- Reflexive pronouns are used when a subject aids itself in performing an action.
- They must be used with reflexive verbs that usually have a meaning different from the verb without the pronoun.
- Reflexive pronouns are placed before a conjugated verb or tacked onto the end of an infinitive or present participle.
- Reflexive pronouns can be used to emphasize an action, especially a completed one.
- These pronouns are used to talk about reciprocal actions being enacted by two or more subjects on each other.
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