{"id":119341,"date":"2018-11-26T05:12:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T10:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/reflexive-verb-conjugation-french\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T07:17:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T11:17:43","slug":"reflexive-verb-conjugation-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/reflexive-verb-conjugation-french\/","title":{"rendered":"French Reflexive Verbs: The Complete Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

On my first day of French class, we had to introduce ourselves with:\u00a0Je m’appelle _____ <\/em>(My name is _____).<\/p>\n

What I didn’t know right away is that\u00a0I had already used my first French reflexive verb.<\/p>\n

As I got better at French, eventually becoming fluent in it<\/a>, I noticed how reflexive verbs are very common\u2014in fact, knowing how to conjugate them correctly is crucial to even basic communication.<\/p>\n

This guide will get you comfortable with French<\/strong> reflexive verbs<\/strong> so you can recognize them quickly and conjugate them in different tenses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What Are French Reflexive Verbs?<\/h2>\n

Reflexive verbs are common in everyday French.\u00a0They’re used for everything from describing your daily routine (je m’habille<\/em>\u2014I dress myself), to expressing how you feel, (je me f\u00e2che<\/em>\u2014I am becoming angry), to introducing yourself\u2014as I learned on my first day of French class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A reflexive verb is used for an action that “reflects back” on the subject.<\/strong> So if you’re the subject of a sentence with a reflexive verb, you’re doing something to yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, take the verb se laver<\/em>. This verb means “to wash oneself.”<\/p>\n

By contrast, with the verb\u00a0laver<\/em> (to wash), the subject could be washing something else.<\/p>\n

Il se lave.<\/em>
\nHe washes himself.<\/p>\n

Il lave la voiture.
\n<\/em>He washes the car.<\/p>\n

Reflexive verbs are used with reflexive pronouns that always correspond to the subject of the sentence:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Subject<\/th>Reflexive Pronoun<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
je<\/em> (I) <\/td>me<\/em> (myself)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tu<\/em> (you)<\/td>te<\/em> (yourself)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
il<\/em> (he or it), elle<\/em> (she or it), on<\/em> (one or we)<\/td>se<\/em> (him\/her\/itself, oneself, ourselves)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nous<\/em> (we)<\/td>nous<\/em> (ourselves)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
vous<\/em> (plural or formal you) <\/td>vous<\/em> (yourselves)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ils\/elles<\/em> (they)<\/td>se<\/em> (themselves)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Sometimes reflexive verbs make perfect sense to English speakers, with an action very clearly being done by “myself,” “yourself,” “herself,” etc. Other times, the action will “reflect back” in a more metaphorical sense. And finally, some verbs must be reflexive grammatically, even though it doesn’t really contribute to the meaning.<\/p>\n

Let’s take a closer look at the different types of reflexive verbs.<\/p>\n

Type 1: Actions You Literally Do to Yourself<\/h3>\n

Some reflexive verbs are logical and describe an action that you, in a sense, do to yourself. This type often consists of actions involving the body and the daily routine<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Je me r\u00e9veille.
\n<\/em>I wake up. (Literally: I wake myself.)<\/p>\n

Il se l\u00e8ve.<\/em>
\nHe gets up. (Literally: he raises himself.)<\/p>\n

Nous nous habillons.
\n<\/em>We get dressed. (Literally: we dress ourselves.)<\/p>\n

Tu te brosses les cheveux\/les dents.<\/em>
\nYou brush your hair\/teeth. (Literally: you brush yourself the hair\/the teeth.)<\/p>\n

Vous vous lavez la t\u00eate.<\/em>
\nYou wash your hair. (Literally: you wash yourselves the head.)<\/p>\n

Elles se s\u00e8chent les cheveux.<\/em>
\nThey dry their hair. (Literally: they dry themselves their hair.)<\/p>\n

Even if there’s a direct object, such as les dents<\/em>\u00a0(the teeth) or la t\u00eate<\/em> (the head), you still need to have the reflexive pronoun.<\/p>\n

Although the English equivalent of these phrases may not include a reflexive pronoun, it’s required in French because it’s an action you’re doing to yourself. In fact, many of these verbs can be used without a reflexive pronoun, depending on what you want to say.<\/p>\n

For instance, although “<\/em>Vous vous lavez la t\u00eate”<\/em> means “you wash your hair,” “<\/em>Vous lavez la voiture”<\/em> means “you wash the car.” Both of these sentences contain a direct object, but the first one nevertheless requires a reflexive pronoun because you’re washing part of yourself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Type 2: Abstract Actions Involving Yourself<\/h3>\n

This type of reflexive verb mainly consists of phrases used to describe emotions. The action “reflects back”\u00a0in a mental or emotional sense<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Je me f\u00e2che<\/em>.
\nI am becoming angry.<\/p>\n

Elles se d\u00e9p\u00eachent.
\n<\/em>They are hurrying up.<\/p>\n

Nous nous amusons.<\/em>
\nWe are having fun.<\/p>\n

Il s’ennuie.
\n<\/em>He is bored.<\/p>\n

This also applies to the imperative (when giving a command):\u00a0<\/p>\n

Calmez-vous !
\n<\/em>Calm down!<\/p>\n

Ne t’inqui\u00e8te pas !
\n<\/em>Don’t worry!<\/p>\n

In the imperative, use the tu<\/em> or vous<\/em> form of the verb and hyphenate it with the appropriate reflexive pronoun. But if it’s a negative command, structure the phrase like the sentence Tu ne t’inqui\u00e8te pas<\/em> and simply omit the subject.<\/p>\n

Using these verbs\u00a0without a reflexive pronoun is less common, but it’s still possible, with a different meaning.<\/p>\n

For example, while\u00a0Il s’ennuie<\/em> means “He is bored,”\u00a0Est-ce que son discours t’ennuie <\/em>?”<\/em> means “Does his speech bore you?” The first sentence is simply an expression of emotion, while the second has to do with the action of boring someone. There, the pronoun te<\/em> functions as a direct object, not as a reflexive pronoun.<\/p>\n

Type 3: Verbs That Just Require It<\/h3>\n

As noted earlier, there are some verbs that must be reflexive, even though it doesn’t necessarily contribute to the meaning. The only way to remember them is to practice.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Il se moque de sa s\u0153ur.
\n<\/em>He mocks\/makes fun of his sister.<\/p>\n

Je me souviens de mon s\u00e9jour en France.
\n<\/em>I remember my trip to France.<\/p>\n

Ils se plaignent des imp\u00f4ts.
\n<\/em>They complain about the taxes.<\/p>\n

Vous vous servez de l’ordinateur dans vos recherches.
\n<\/em>You use the computer in your research.<\/p>\n

Est-ce que tu t’aper\u00e7ois de la situation dans laquelle on est ?<\/em>
\nDo you notice the situation we are in?<\/p>\n

Nous nous attendons \u00e0 voir le nouveau film cet apr\u00e8s-midi.
\n<\/em>We expect to see the new movie this afternoon.<\/p>\n

As you probably noticed, these examples tend to be more complex<\/strong>. Since the reflexive pronoun doesn’t contribute to meaning, you have to include more information to express a complete thought.<\/p>\n

Some of these verbs, too, have different meanings when used without a reflexive pronoun:<\/p>\n