French Reflexive Verbs: How You Describe Your Whole Day
Se lever, se laver, s'habiller - most of your daily routine is described with French reflexive verbs. The full pattern, conjugated.
French reflexive verbs describe the subject acting on itself. They use a matching pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se), normally before the verb: je me lave (I wash myself). Many daily-routine verbs are pronominal: se réveiller (wake up), se lever (get up), s’habiller (get dressed).
Quick answer
French reflexive verbs describe the subject acting on itself. They use a matching pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se), normally before the verb: je me lave (I wash myself). Many daily-routine verbs are pronominal: se réveiller (wake up), se lever (get up), s’habiller (get dressed).
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You’ve likely already met one: see s’appeler, a familiar pronominal verb.
What makes a verb reflexive
In a reflexive use, the subject acts on itself: je me lave means “I wash myself.” The broader French category is pronominal verbs: verbs used with a pronoun that matches the subject. Not all have a literal “self” meaning; elles se parlent means “they talk to each other.”
The pronoun normally precedes the verb: tu te laves. In an affirmative command it follows the verb with a hyphen, and te becomes toi in this pattern: lave-toi (wash yourself). In a negative command it goes back before the verb: ne te lave pas (do not wash yourself).
The pattern: se laver, fully conjugated
| Pronoun | Se laver |
|---|---|
| je | me lave |
| tu | te laves |
| il/elle | se lave |
| nous | nous lavons |
| vous | vous lavez |
| ils/elles | se lavent |
The daily-routine verb set
| French | English |
|---|---|
| se réveiller | to wake up |
| se lever | to get up |
| se doucher | to shower |
| s’habiller | to get dressed |
| se coucher | to go to bed |
Reflexive verbs in the passé composé
Pronominal verbs use être in the passé composé: je me suis levé(e), elle s’est habillée. But choosing être does not make agreement automatic. With reflexive and reciprocal uses such as se laver and se parler, look for a direct object (COD). The past participle agrees with that direct object only if it comes before the verb.
- Elle s’est lavée. She washed herself: se is the preceding direct object, so lavée agrees with it.
- Elle s’est lavé les mains. She washed her hands: les mains is the direct object and follows the verb; se is indirect, so lavé stays unchanged.
- Elles se sont parlé. They spoke to each other: parler à quelqu’un takes an indirect object. There is no direct object here, so parlé stays unchanged.
Compare a direct object placed first: les mains qu’elle s’est lavées (the hands she washed). Here que represents the preceding feminine plural direct object les mains, so the participle is lavées. For the auxiliary choice, see why pronominal verbs use être.
Not all “self” verbs are reflexive in both languages
French pronominal forms do not always translate with “self”: se souvenir means “to remember,” not an action performed on oneself. Do not force a literal reflexive meaning onto every verb introduced with se. See French conjugation for the wider system.
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Questions about this note
What makes a French verb reflexive?
In a reflexive use, the subject acts on itself: je me lave. Reflexive verbs belong to the broader pronominal group. The pronoun normally comes before the verb, but follows it in an affirmative command: lave-toi.
How do you conjugate se laver?
Je me lave, tu te laves, il/elle se lave, nous nous lavons, vous vous lavez, ils/elles se lavent.
Do reflexive verbs use avoir or être in passé composé?
They use être, but agreement is not automatic: elle s'est lavée, elle s'est lavé les mains, elles se sont parlé. With these verbs, the past participle agrees with a preceding direct object, not an indirect object.
What are common daily-routine reflexive verbs?
Se réveiller, se lever, se doucher, s'habiller, se coucher.
Is every French reflexive verb reflexive in English?
No. French pronominal verbs do not always translate with "self": se souvenir means to remember. It is pronominal, but does not describe an action performed on oneself.