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Reflexive Verbs
A reflexive verb is a verb whose action loops back onto the subject, and French marks that loop with a pronoun:
Je me lave. Tu te lèves. Elle s’habille.
The pronoun is part of the verb’s identity — dictionaries list se laver and se lever, not just laver and lever — and it changes with the subject.
English usually leaves the loop unspoken ("I wash", "she gets dressed"), which is exactly why the pronoun is easy to forget. This page covers the present-tense pattern, laver vs se laver, the passé composé with être, and the commands lève-toi and ne te lève pas.
In short
- The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) matches the subject and sits directly before the verb: je me lève.
- In the passé composé, every reflexive verb takes être: elle s’est levée.
- In affirmative commands the pronoun jumps after the verb: lève-toi.
reflexive pronounverbagreement· hover a highlighted word for its label
The pronoun is part of the verb’s name
When you look up "to get up", the dictionary answers se lever — the pronoun is built into the verb’s name, so learn the two words as one unit. Without its pronoun, the verb points outward at someone or something else; with it, the action loops back to the subject.
Present tense: the pronoun changes with the subject
The pronoun agrees with the subject and stands directly before the verb. Yes, nous nous levons doubles the same word — that is correct, not a typo.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | je me lève |
| tu | tu te lèves |
| il / elle / on | elle se lève |
| nous | nous nous levons |
| vous | vous vous levez |
| ils / elles | ils se lèvent |
The daily-routine set
- se réveiller — to wake up
- se lever — to get up
- se laver — to wash
- s’habiller — to get dressed
- se brosser les dents — to brush your teeth
- se coucher — to go to bed
I get up at seven.
— me matches je and sits right before the verb.
Laver or se laver? The pronoun changes the direction
Many reflexive verbs also exist in a plain version. Plain: the action lands on someone or something else. Reflexive: it loops back to the subject. Same verb, opposite direction.
She walks the dog every morning.
— The action lands on the dog — no pronoun.
She goes for a walk along the canal.
— The action loops back to her — se promener.
Passé composé: always être
In the passé composé, every reflexive verb takes être — including verbs whose plain version takes avoir: elle a lavé la voiture, but elle s’est lavée. If the passé composé itself is still new to you, the Passé Composé guide explains the helper system; here we only add the reflexive layer.
subject + me / te / se / nous / vous + être in the present + past participle
She took the wrong bus.
— se tromper builds its past with être, never avoir.
We went to bed just after midnight.
— The second nous is the reflexive pronoun.
The agreement subtlety: lavée vs lavé les mains
In elle s’est lavée, the participle takes -e because the pronoun s’ is the direct object (COD) — she washed herself. In elle s’est lavé les mains, the direct object is les mains, and it comes after the verb; the pronoun now only says whose hands they were, so the participle stops agreeing. The test: ask what got washed. If the answer is the pronoun, agree; if a separate object follows the verb, do not.
The complete agreement system — with avoir, preceding direct objects, and the rest — is its own reference topic, Past Participle Agreement. For reflexive verbs, this one test is all you need.
She washed up in ten minutes.
— The pronoun s’ is the direct object → the participle agrees with elle.
She washed her hands before the meal.
— The direct object (les mains) follows the verb → no agreement.
Each other: the reciprocal use
With a plural subject, the same pronoun can mean "each other" instead of "themselves": ils se téléphonent is not two people calling themselves. Context decides the reading.
They call each other every evening.
— Reciprocal: the action goes back and forth between them.
The imperative: lève-toi / ne te lève pas
In an affirmative command, the pronoun jumps after the verb, attached with a hyphen, and te becomes toi. In a negative command, it moves back in front. (Tu-form commands of -er verbs also drop their final s — lève-toi, not lèves-toi; the details live on the Imperative page.)
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| Lève-toi ! | Ne te lève pas ! |
| Levons-nous ! | Ne nous levons pas ! |
| Levez-vous ! | Ne vous levez pas ! |
Get up, we are leaving in ten minutes.
— Affirmative: verb first, then the pronoun — and te becomes toi.
Don’t go to bed too late tonight.
— Negative: the pronoun moves back in front of the verb.
Common mistakes
✗Elle réveille à six heures et demie.
✓Elle se réveille à six heures et demie.
Without its pronoun, réveiller means to wake someone else up — the action only loops back to the subject with se.
✗Hier, nous nous avons couchés tard.
✓Hier, nous nous sommes couchés tard.
Reflexive verbs always build the passé composé with être, never with avoir.
✗Elle s’est lavée les mains.
✓Elle s’est lavé les mains.
When a direct object (les mains) follows the verb, the pronoun is indirect and the participle stops agreeing.
✗Je me lave mes mains.
✓Je me lave les mains.
With reflexive verbs, French uses the definite article for body parts — the pronoun already says whose they are.
✗Te dépêche, le bus arrive !
✓Dépêche-toi, le bus arrive !
In an affirmative command, the pronoun moves after the verb and te becomes toi.
Check yourself
1 / 4Tous les matins, je ___ à six heures. (se réveiller)
2 / 4Hier soir, elles ___ très tôt. (se coucher)
3 / 4Elle s’est ___ les dents après le déjeuner. (brosser)
4 / 4___, le taxi est en bas ! (s’habiller)
Frequently asked questions
Do all French reflexive verbs take être in the passé composé?
Yes — every reflexive verb builds its passé composé with être, even when its plain version takes avoir (elle a lavé la voiture, but elle s’est lavée).
What is the difference between laver and se laver?
The direction of the action. Laver sends the action outward to an object (elle lave la voiture — she washes the car); se laver loops it back onto the subject (elle se lave — she washes herself).
Why is there no agreement in elle s’est lavé les mains?
Because the direct object, les mains, follows the verb, so the pronoun is only indirect. The participle agrees only when the pronoun itself is the direct object, as in elle s’est lavée.
Are reflexive and reciprocal verbs the same in French?
They use the same form. With a plural subject, the pronoun can mean "themselves" (reflexive) or "each other" (reciprocal): ils se regardent can be either, and context decides.
Memory tip
Learn each reflexive verb with its pronoun attached, the way the dictionary lists it: say "se lever", never just "lever". If the se is part of the name in your head, the right pronoun will surface on its own when you conjugate.
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